The Product of Experimentation
by Illusion911
Summary: He never asked for this fate. Sawada Tsunayoshi lives a life of deceit, pain, and death. He never wanted it that way, but he had no choice. One day, a remnant of his dark past catches up with him, and drags him into a deadly world. Now, he has to survive dangerous encounters, become stronger, and fight back the alter ego threatening to take over his mind. Will he win, or...?
1. Chapter 1 - Trust No One

Chapter 1-Trust No One

_Trust no one._

The phrase was a code that he had to live by all his life. He could never reveal his secret to anyone. Nobody could comprehend his ever-present burden. It is for this reason he lived a life full of lies and deceit. His mannerisms towards others, his disposition, his abilities…they were all lies.

And it was all because of the past he never accepted. It was because of a decision he never made. His childhood was riddled with pain, suffering, blackouts, memory loss, and the occasional slaughter. He needed to stay hidden. He would never go back to that life. Not again…

* * *

He looked in the mirror to see if he was ready.

He could see himself in his entirety. His soft, light brown eyes shined incessantly as they scanned his reflection. His spiky, gravity-defying, dark brown hair was as unfixable as ever. His uniform, on the other hand, looked fine. The white-collared polo was neatly put on underneath a dark vest, the same hue as his pants, and the tie was put on properly as well.

After checking himself to see if he was ready for school, Sawada Tsunayoshi headed down the stairs of his quaint Namimori house. Tsuna promptly put on his shoes and shouted to his mother, "I'm leaving!" Tsuna's mother, Sawada Nana, gave a warm smile and said to him,"Alright! Be good at school today!"

Tsuna rushed outside the house like a dart. His hand grasped the strap of his bag firmly as he walked to school. He knew that some bullies could come out of anywhere while he was walking and he needed to keep his bag, and its contents, safe. It wasn't like Tsuna couldn't handle them. In fact, if he wanted to, he could take them all down with both hands behind his back, even kill them.

_No, _he would tell himself, _if I killed them, it would attract unnecessary attention towards me. I need to stay below the radar._

He was able to get to school without any unnecessary conflict. His school, Namimori Middle was almost empty at the time. A few students would be seen every once in a while, but none of them would linger for long. It wasn't really a surprise to Tsuna. Why would there be a lot of students on the grounds if class was in session?

He wasn't late on purpose. His alarm _did _ring, however he slept late and needed the extra hour. He didn't think that it was a bad thing to get the amount of sleep needed. He was confident of his cause.

He decided that he would make a run for it. That's what a regular student would do if he was late, right? He quickly went in the school and tried his best to walk as fast as he could, enough to be swift, but just below the point when it could be considered running. The last thing Tsuna needed right then was to attract the attention of the any member of the school's disciplinary committee.

Thankfully, he was able to get to the classroom without being punished by the school's sadistic prefect. He made sure to put on his 'pathetic face' on before opening the door.

"Uhmm…" he said in the most pathetic voice he could muster, "Sorry I'm late."

Tsuna was then openly greeted by sneers, boos, and a few crumpled up pieces of paper. Of course, being labeled 'No-Good Tsuna', he wasn't exactly well loved. Another layer of cover, another annoyance to be dealt with for the rest of his life.

"Ah, if it isn't Sawada Tsunayoshi," jeered the teacher. "Now, take your seat this instant, and perhaps I will spare you of a question."

This was another thing Tsuna hated: the inability of compassion among the people in his school. If only...

"Y-yes."

Tsuna quietly slipped into his seat without any complaint. Silently cursing himself, he gave a deep sigh as he sat down. The teacher rambled on with the discussion, and Tsuna obviously didn't care one bit. Yes, he did understand everything the teacher was saying- he could even surpass the teacher's own knowledge - however, he needed stay out of interest. If he allowed his full potential to go through, _they _could easily track him.

And that was the last thing he wanted right now.

"Alright, class," the teacher said, breaking Tsuna out of his mental loathing, "Time for the test to start!"

_Shall I get zero this time, _Tsuna thought, _or shall I get five percent?_

The teacher promptly slapped the thick test paper on Tsuna's table. Giving Tsuna a jeering look, the teacher announced to the class, "Remember, this test counts for a majority of your grade! Even if you didn't do well for the other quizzes and such, you can make up for it on this test!" The teacher started moving around the classroom, giving each student a copy of the test paper.

"The reason why this is so," he continued," is because this is a nationwide test being given to the schools to assess exactly how well they are able to teach their students." The teacher looked back at Tsuna, and that jeering look hardened, as if it was looking to pierce the young brunette's heart. "Do not fool around."

Tsuna did his best to give a frightened look. _What a fool._

He turned his attention back to the test paper which he was ready to fail. He held his unlucky number two pencil in his hand and looked over the paper he could have so easily completed in less than 30 minutes. _So the answer to number one is letter A, so perhaps I will choose letter C..._

The teacher sat down at his desk. His gaze could have burnt a hole right through Tsuna's neck, if such a phenomenon were possible. Regardless, Tsuna ignored him. _Such a pest, that teacher is. Why can't he mind his own damn business? At any rate, where was I? Ah, yes, letter C..._

**_Are you seriously letting those bastards get away with treating you like dirt?_**

The calm yet strict voice startled Tsuna. He quickly looked at the others, wondering if they heard the voice as well. Just then, he heard the teacher snarl, "No cheating, Sawada."

_What a bastard..._

**_So. Will you let them continue to oppress you?_**

Sweat started to drip a little from Tsuna's forehead.

_Who are you?_

**_Will you let them continue?_**

Tsuna's heart seemed to open up, and rage started to fill his thoughts.

_I don't want them to. I never wished for such a pathetic lifestyle. If I could have it my way, these sadistic bastards would be in hell and I'd have a nice, luxurious lifestyle as a renowned scholar. But..._

He hesitated.

_I need to stay hidden. They..._

**_If you just let me through, they could never touch you. You could make sure that they would never, ever try to get you back._**

_Really?_

**_Yes. All you have to do is let me through…_**

Tsuna's vision started to blur and his will seemed to falter. After a few short moments, he completely blacked out.

* * *

Tsuna woke up in his bed.

_What…just happened?_

All he could remember was taking the test, then…

_That voice, _he thought, _who was that?_

He sat up and looked out the window. It was already dark. Just to be sure, he checked his alarm clock. Midnight.

_I guess it was just a dream…_

_…or…_

_…was it?_

* * *

Tsuna started the day as he usually did. This time, he was able to get to class before it was in session. As he walked through the hallway, he noticed that some of the students were glaring at him.

_What in blazes is their problem?_

He reached his classroom, and instead of the usual sneers, his classmates were giving frightened and discriminating looks. The classroom was enveloped in a dead silence. It was like the temperature dropped by a number of degrees. Tsuna gave an honestly confused look.

_Did I do something wrong?_

The school day proceeded on with the majority of people giving him terrified stares. None of the teachers insulted him as they often did, and he was left alone. It really was strange, and the class was very quiet.

The biggest surprise, though, came when it was time to give the results of the test.

Tsuna wasn't sure what would happen since all he could remember was blacking out at the start. He listened intently as the teacher talked.

He was trembling, and looked like he would jump out the window. His face was riddled with surprise and fright.

"O-okay, class…"

_He's stammering? _Tsuna thought, _That's very unlike him._

"…I-I'm going to start with the highest score…The student…got a perfect score."

Whispers could be heard. The test had been an advanced coverage of the topics they had recently discussed, and other various subjects. They doubted that even the teacher could get it perfect without the help of textbooks and the internet.

_I wonder who got it..._

"The student who got perfect…" A hushed silence came upon the room. Tsuna unconsciously leaned forward. Somehow, he felt like he already knew the answer, but he needed to be sure. Could it really possibly be…?

"…is Sawada Tsunayoshi." A number of spontaneous gasps escaped the mouths of the students. The star students gave a face that obviously said, '_Him_? _He_ got it? Not me?', and the rest of them had looks of pure surprise. Tsuna, on the other hand, was sitting dead still, as though in a catatonic state. A faint word escaped his breast, spoken in a dead whisper, as though the word would be his last.

"What…?"


	2. Chapter 2 - A Remnant of the Past

Chapter 2- A Remnant of the Past

"What?"

Tsuna couldn't believe it. He couldn't even remember taking the damn test! How in blazes could he have gotten perfect?

_It has got to be some sort of prank they got the teacher to participate in, _Tsuna thought.

"Please get your paper...Sawada..." the teacher said, Tsuna's paper in hand.

Tsuna walked briskly towards the teacher and grabbed the test paper. He frantically flipped through the pages as he made his way back to his chair.

_It's no prank. These answers really are correct! And on top of that, it's my handwriting! _

Suddenly, Tsuna felt sick to the stomach. He dropped his paper onto his desk.

"I need to use the restroom," he managed to say.

The second he darted out of the classroom, he could hear gasps of disbelief come from inside. They looked at his paper, no doubt. Tsuna couldn't blame them. In fact, he was probably the most surprised of the lot.

He rushed to the nearest restroom he could find and peered inside. The stall doors were swung wide open and no one was inside. Tsuna immediately went over to the faucet and turned it on. He cupped his hands under the faucet and allowed the water to accumulate within them before splashing the water onto his face. He did this several times.

_Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!_

After a few blasts of the cold water, he turned off the faucet. For a few short moments, all that could be heard was the dripping of water and Tsuna's agitated breathing.

"Haah...haah...haah..."

After a while, he moved away from the line of sinks. Tsuna went over to a concrete wall and punched it, causing it to shake lightly and a few cracks were formed. He was staring at the ground beneath his feet.

_Dammit, that was a nationwide test! If these results go out, _they _will be able to find me! _

He punched the wall once again, and it trembled. He gave a soft groan.

_That's it. My life is over._

_**Is it?**_

Tsuna jumped upon hearing the voice.

_That's the same voice that I heard before I blacked out!_

He looked around. "Where are you?" Tsuna queried. It seemed rather strange that he could hear a voice come from within the empty restroom.

_**Look in the mirror.**_

Tsuna cautiously moved toward the mirror he had been standing in front of a few minutes before. There, he saw an image of a boy. He had dark brown spiky hair, light brown eyes, was wearing the Namimori Middle uniform...

_It's just my reflection, idiot, _Tsuna scolded himself. He rested both of his hands on the edge of the sink and slightly leaned forward, putting his weight upon it. He looked at his reflection and gave an exasperated sigh.

_I must be going mad._

_**"No, you are not."**_

Tsuna's reflection suddenly stood up straight, even though Tsuna himself did not move an inch. Its eyes turned a bright orange, and a flame of a similar hue ignited on his forehead. Tsuna involuntarily took a step back, his eyes wide with astonishment.

_**"Hello." **_The voice resounded loud and clear in the small restroom. Calm, yet strict, just like when Tsuna first heard it.

This made Tsuna even more surprised. His reflection just talked to him. His _reflection _just_ talked_ to him. On top of that, it just changed its appearance to one that Tsuna never thought existed. I mean, bright orange eyes? And a flame on the forehead? When has anyone ever looked like that?

"Wh-who are you?" Tsuna asked, his body trembling.

**_"I am you, and yet, at the same time, I am not you."_**

The words took a while to register within Tsuna's mind. _What in blazes does he mean? _Thoughts rushed into Tsuna's mind. _Now that I think about it, he does sound a lot like me... _

Yet...

"What do you mean by that?" Somehow, Tsuna started to relax, and his breathing was less agitated. The appearance of his 'reflection' got his mind off his current fears, at least for the meantime.

The 'reflection' put its hand to its chest. _**"**_**_I am the product of the intervention of man. I am the result of twisted experiments made for the benefit of gaining a weapon of war. I am the outcome of man's interference with the natural balance of a person and his psyche."_**

The words echoed within Tsuna's mind, and cruel memories of his past flashed through his brain. The images were horrid. Needles. Serums. Chemicals. Experiments.

Death.

Tsuna shook his head violently. He didn't want to remember those times. Nor will he ever allow himself to go back to those times.

"How is it that I can see and hear you like this? No one else seems to be able to hear you," Tsuna finally said.

_**"It's because I am a product of the experiments done on **_**you****_." _**His eyes pierced into Tsuna's. _**"I**_ _**am basically a personification of the self you choose to hide from society. Only, I have..."**_ He briefly paused, looking for the right words. _**"...extra special abilities. I also have a consciousness of my own. Therefore, I am you, yet I am not you."**_

Tsuna examined his 'reflection's' words and expression carefully.

"So...in other words, you're my alter ego?"

_**"Yes."**_

"Do you bear a name?" His words and expression were calm, but on the inside he was shaken by the fact that he had an alter ego, and that it just spoke to him through his _reflection_.

_**"Decimo,"**_it said, _**"Nothing more, nothing less."**_

_Decimo? Isn't that Italian? _

Before Tsuna could say another word, the restroom door was flung open by a few upper-class men. They noticed Tsuna's presence and smiled malevolently. Tsuna gave them a brief glance before turning back to the mirror. It was his normal reflection.

"Decimo..." Tsuna mumbled under his breath.

"Oi, No-Good Tsuna!" one of the upper-class men called out, "I need some money so hand over everything you got!"

Tsuna, in answer, stared disdainfully at them. They were rather large, and pride was written all over their face. Some bore conceit, others bore egomania. All of them were definitely delinquents, nonetheless.

**_I'm here, Tsuna. In your mind._ **Decimo said. Somehow, Decimo's voice always seemed to relax Tsuna, which was strange considering the fact that Decimo technically _was _him.

The upper-class man who demanded Tsuna's money now thrust his hand forward, palm facing upwards. "Fork it over, now! Unless you want to be in the infirmary by the time it's over!"

_Bastards..._

_**You know, you **_**could**_** beat them up.**_

_What?_

_**I mean, you're in a restroom. So long as the sound is kept at a minimal and you go out without notice, you should be fine. And if they regain consciousness, I doubt anyone would believe that **_**you _of all people could knock them out like that._**

As the meaning of Decimo's words sunk into his brain, a slow smile crept upon Tsuna's face

* * *

Tsuna went out of the restroom, dusting off his hands.

"That takes care of that," he said to no one in particular.

He calmly made his way to his classroom and tried his best to act as if nothing had happened, despite the sheer magnitude of the events that had transpired within a mere hour. The moment he stepped into the classroom, he was blasted with questions. He did his best to keep his act up and not raise any suspicion.

Meanwhile, a boy from another classroom was rushing to find a restroom. The fact that he really needed to go only struck him after he answered the first three questions of the long test. Unfortunately, the teacher doesn't allow students to go outside during tests for fear that they may be cheating. He had desperately tried his best to answer each question as accurately as possible and as quickly as possible. When he had finally finished reviewing his paper, he dashed out like a dart the millisecond the teacher allowed him to go.

He quickly ducked into the first restroom he saw, but when he opened the door, fear and shock crept upon his face. His hand flew over his mouth and he started running the opposite direction. After a while, he reached the infirmary.

His face was dripping with sweat, and he was panting heavily. He could feel his heart pounding, and his body throbbed with each heartbeat.

The nurse looked up from a paper she was writing on. "Oh, dear, you're sweating and breathing heavily!" She had a concerned expression on her face. "What happened?" She looked down and noticed that his pants were wet.

"Did you...?" she stopped mid-sentence, deciding that it would be best to stay quiet about _that _fact.

The boy did his best to catch his breath. "There's...in...there's..."

"What is it?" the nurse grabbed the boys shoulders.

The boy looked up, his eyes full of dread.

"There are ten upper-class men in the restroom...and they're all beat-up passed out on the floor!"


	3. Chapter 3 - Paranoia

Chapter 3-Paranoia

"Haah..."

Tsuna stretched tiredly as he plopped himself onto his bed. He took out his bag and got everything he needed for the afternoon. Pencils, eraser, papers, and of course the notebooks he had to write on. After he brought the articles to his study table, he promptly arranged them. He stood back and gave a satisfied nod. Tsuna turned toward his mirror.

"Okay Decimo, what in blazes did you do yesterday?" It had taken a while to accept the fact that he had an alter ego, but he's still a bit shaken. It somehow felt familiar, though, having an alter ego...nostalgic, even.

His reflection switched to the image of Decimo.

_**"Excel in everything you refused to,"**_ Decimo said with a rather self-satisfactory smile.

Tsuna crossed his arms in front of him. "Exactly _what_ do you mean?"

_**"Well, I ran 55 miles in P.E. in less than 5 minutes, I was able to combine the correct chemicals in chemistry, I performed an elaborate declamation piece for English..."**_ Decimo ticked off each finger each time he said an accomplishment of the previous day. It eventually amounted to fifteen things he had done.

Tsuna gave a sigh. "I'm not supposed to let others know how excellent I am. You of all peopl-" Tsuna stopped mid-sentence, wondering what type of being Decimo actually is. After a brief pause, he decided to go for the general term and said, "You of all beings should know that if _they-"_

Decimo interrupted him._** "Tsuna."**_

Decimo's face showed determination, which made Tsuna interested.

"Yes?"

_**"I can take care of them."**_

"What?"

_**"Tsuna. We're both strong enough to take that organization down," **_he said, **_"We just need to become stronger, and we can kill them all."_**

* * *

Decimo's words echoed within Tsuna's mind as he wandered about the street.

It was a Saturday, so he was free to do whatever he wanted to do. He was just going to stay in bed and sleep but with some reflective object always around, Decimo kept bothering him.

_You're gonna become lazy, he says. You're gonna become weak just sleeping, he says. Go get some exercise, he says... _

Tsuna groaned as he thought of Decimo's constant nagging. He decided to go out since Decimo doesn't seem to come out in public places. Tsuna felt like he needed some air anyway.

Hands in his pockets, he strolls around looking at some random things every once in a while. In a few moments, he was in the Namimori Shopping District. He calmly walked through the crowd, glad that none of them would even give him a _first _look, much less a second. He always liked public places. They always made him feel like he was invisible, like he was just some person on the street. They made him feel normal. He gave a relaxed sigh.

Then suddenly, something feels off.

_Is someone...watching me? _

Slight fear crept into his heart. Whoever_ they_ sent to retrieve him must be pretty strong for his mere presence to be suffocating. The very air felt thick, and Tsuna couldn't help clutching himself to keep him from staggering to the ground. That could have attracted a _lot _of attention.

Tsuna tried his best to shake the feeling off, though wherever he went, he felt like he must be being watched by some sinister chameleon in the shadows. The sensation was enough to send chills up his spine. Even after an hour of walking around aimlessly, the presence was still there.

Tsuna decided that he had no choice but to ask for help.

_Decimo, _Tsuna mentally called out.

**_Yes?_**

_Do you have any idea where he might be?_

_**What makes you think that I would know that? **_

_Well, you said you had 'extra special abilities'. Considering _their _mindset, the ability to locate a threat should be one of them. I can sense the general area he's in but I can't pinpoint it exactly._

_**Nice analysis. Rooftop of the house 4 'o clock. **_

Tsuna did his best to pretend remembering something he had to do, and turned around in hopes of catching a glimpse of his stalker.

_**Rooftop at seven o' clock.**_

Once again Tsuna spun around, only to find that no one was on the roof of the shop.

**_Alleyway at one o' clock._ **

Tsuna spun around, but again, no one. Tsuna quickened his pace as Decimo started to say their pursuer's location. Tsuna glimpsed in every reflective item facing the area and occasionally looked back every time Decimo said where the man might be, but Tsuna just couldn't catch sight of the mysterious stalker.

_Dammit, Decimo! Is it possible for you to at least predict where he might hide?_

_**I'm not even sure this stalker might exist. It's like he's a ghost, or something.** _

_What? _

Tsuna kept his eyes and ears open as he walked back to his house. He decided to shut out Decimo for a while.

_A ghost, huh. He might as well be, considering that I can't even get a glimpse of the damn man. _

He sighed.

"_AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" _

Tsuna had to quickly step back as a large man's body was thrown in front of him. He stared at the body dumbfounded for a moment before turning to where the man was thrown from.

No one.

"Hnn." Tsuna went over to the man and started nudging him lightly with his foot. "Hey. Hey. Snap out of it. Hey!"

The man slowly regained consciousness. Upon realizing that he was being nudged, the man quickly put his arms around his face and curled up into a ball.

"P-P-P-Please!" he was crying out nervously, "I-I'm sorry I b-bumped into you!"

Tsuna raised an eyebrow. "I beg your pardon?"

The man looked up and stared at Tsuna for a few seconds before turning to where he was thrown from.

"Oh, thank goodness." He breathed a sigh of relief as he pressed his hand against his chest. "He's gone."

Tsuna crouched down beside him. "What happened?"

The man looked back at Tsuna then scratched the back of his head.

"Well, kid..." Tsuna flinched, slightly irritated by the use of the word, but concealed it.

"...I was just walking around when I accidentally bumped into this guy." He rubbed the back of his neck, showing that he obviously felt awkward talking about the incident. "I guess it became my fault, then, 'cause I started to get all riled up at the guy since I was in a bad mood, having just lost my job, and all."

"I'm sorry about that," Tsuna said sympathetically.

"Thanks, kid." The man gave a smile. "Anyway, I got all over the guy, and I guess I must have been really annoying 'cause the guy pulled a gun on me."

Tsuna widened his eyes at this. _A gun?! _

The man continued. "He told me that I should take a hike, but I tried to be all bravado, and I ended up getting kicked hard, then thrown by the guy."

"You okay?" Tsuna asked, now concerned. "No injuries?"

"Nothing serious. Just a few bruises."

Tsuna rubbed his head thoughtfully as the man sat up.

"What did he look like?" Tsuna finally said.

"Well..." The man tapped his index finger lightly on his chin. "He was wearing this suit and had this fedora... so I couldn't really see the guy's face. He was real tall, too."

Tsuna nodded and stood up. "Thanks," he said, then started to walk away.

After taking a few steps, Tsuna looked back over his shoulder. "I heard that a cake store in the shopping district needed a new waiter."

The man's expression brightened, and he stood up excitedly. "Thanks a lot, kid!" He enthusiastically ran away, and Tsuna couldn't help smiling to himself. "Always happy to help."

The tension he was feeling didn't go away, though. In fact, it seemed to have become even worse.

_A man...with a fedora...in a suit...with a gun... _

Yeah. That was _real _comforting.

Tsuna gave a relaxed sigh as he stopped in front of his house. He walked to the front of the door and was about to grab the doorknob, but the pressure of the atmosphere struck him first. He grabbed himself, immediately recognizing the feeling as the one he had while walking through the shopping district.

_That dangerous aura again... _

He suddenly became frightened, not because he was afraid that he himself would be hurt, but because of the fact that his mother was still in there making some snacks.

_This sensation...and mother... oh, no... _

Tsuna burst in, panic evident on his face. "Mother!"

"In the kitchen~!" the familiar voice of his mother called out.

Tsuna was relieved that his mother was still alive, at least, but the sickening feeling just wouldn't go away. Tsuna mentally swore.

_He's in the house! _

Tsuna cautiously walked into the kitchen, and was greeted with the sight of his mother having tea with a _complete stranger. _Tsuna quickly looked him up and down.

_Fedora...suit...dammit! _

Nana turned to Tsuna cheerfully as she set down her tea. "Hello Tsuna! Done with your walk?"

Tsuna forced a nod before he turned to the fedora-donning man.

"Who's this person you're having tea with?" he asked in a rather strained voice whilst forcing a small smile. Oblivious to Tsuna's expression, Nana gave a warm smile.

"This is Reborn! He said that he's going to tutor you so that you'll do better in school!" Tsuna briefly looked at the man now identified as Reborn.

_Whoever or whatever is doing this to my life, just kill me now._


	4. Chapter 4 - Unwanted Home Tutor

_I would humbly like to apologize for taking a long time to update this chapter *bows*. Because it was Christmas, me and my family were having such a smashing good time, and I didn't want to make them feel like I didn't care about the season. And then, classes started, and my teachers are merciless when it comes to homework. My parents also don't allow me to use the computer during school days and/or days before school days, which means that I may only be able to access the internet on Saturdays. Our periodical tests were also held, and as an honor student, I had to do my best. I will try to update faster this time, however I won't make any promises._

_Katekyo Hitman REBORN! belongs to the one and only Amano Akira._

_Reviews are appreciated, and I'd also like to thank those who reviewed. You guys are wonderful. I didn't think that I'd be successful with my first fanfic, to be honest._

_And so, without further ado, read on..._

* * *

Chapter 4-Unwanted Home Tutor

"Do you understand this question?"

No response.

"Do you know how to answer it?"

No response.

"Are you going to answer me?"

"Are you going to get out of my house?"

Tsuna stared rather irritated at the man who had abruptly come into his life as a home tutor. He goes for a walk for about ten, maybe fifteen minutes, and when he comes back, there's this guy with a dangerous aura about him offering to _tutor _him.

_Yeah. Right. _Tutor_ me. More like kill me in my sleep. _

Reborn gave a defiant look. "I'm not going anywhere until you do better in school."

In response, Tsuna slumped back on his bed and moaned to the heavens. "Just kill me now and get it over with..."

Reborn, hearing the statement, cocked a brow. "Kill you know? Are you really that uninterested in excelling school?"

"The damn methods they use to teach are _boring_. The academic system is based on awarding those who are already gifted with mental prowess. It ignores the fact that the reason why others do not pay attention is because they are unaware of how prerequisite knowledge is in succeeding in life, and that they are having a hard time comprehending the various topics since they have nothing that they actually_ like_ to associate the coverage with." Tsuna lazily lifted a fist towards the sky. "Ti's an oppression that must be justified! Unfortunately, the department which is responsible for considering justice and the welfare of the people tends to become corrupted by the men who lust for such luxuries and are willing to tell blatant lies to get what they want. What were they dubbed again? Politicians?" He put his finger on his chin with an expression of mock thoughtfulness.

"Quite a vocabulary for someone with your reputation," Reborn said with a curious smile.

Tsuna realized what he had just said, mentally swore, and face palmed.

_I'm an idiot. _

"Right." Reborn shifted his position on the chair beside Tsuna's bed. "Know how to do this question?"

"I know you have a gun. Just cut the damn act and kill me already."

Reborn just chuckled. "Just because I have a _gun _doesn't mean I'm dangerous."

"The words 'gun' and 'dangerous' fit very well in a sentence together. Put the words 'doesn't', 'mean', and 'I'm' in between and it becomes utter nonsense," Tsuna said rather pointedly.

Reborn shrugged. "Perhaps."

"Who sent you?" Tsuna continued in a rather bored tone. Weird. He didn't realize that once you got over being pissed at someone you feel like everything becomes boring.

"Why should I tell you?" Reborn countered.

"I'm pretty sure there's a reason." Tsuna shrugged. "I'm also pretty sure you know that I must have a right to know."

Reborn rubbed the back of his neck, deep in thought. "I was sent to train you. By someone who came before you."

"Before me in...?"

Reborn just stared at Tsuna somberly before he got what Reborn meant.

"Hnnn..." Tsuna murmured. _I remember being told that I wasn't the only one to be experimented that way...What did they say again...I was the...tenth, right? _

"I'm going out for a walk," Tsuna said after a while of being lost in thought.

"What of your assignment?" Reborn questioned rather meaningfully.

"There's a blue notebook in between a dictionary and an encyclopedia on that bookshelf." He gestured to a small wooden shelf in the corner of the room. "All the answers are in there." The door clicked shut, and Reborn went over to retrieve said notebook. After flipping a few pages, he found the questions from Tsuna's book assignment and Tsuna's answers as well. Reborn read over the answers and gave a smug grin.

_So this is why the boy hides his talent... _

The answers were undoubtedly correct.

* * *

Tsuna held up the mirror.

"Should I even consider trusting that man?" he muttered to himself, "Or should I just suicide so the papers won't say that I've been murdered by a psychopath sent by hell-knows-what."

_**Trust him. **_Decimo's image appeared.

Tsuna was sitting in an abandoned warehouse he found a few years back, so he was pretty sure that he was alone.

_Pretty _sure.

Tsuna scrunched up his nose. "Why?"

_**"He's here to help you."**_

"Help? Pfft. How?" Tsuna was doubtful.

_**"Shall I elaborate?" **_Decimo asked.

"Please."

_**"That man said he's here to train you. That he was sent by the one who came before you."**_

"In...experimentation?" Tsuna tried to verify.

Decimo's look was...grim.

_**"Yes," **_he finally said.

_**"All in all, ten people have been experimented on the same way you have been tested in the past. You're the tenth experiment, Project Vongola: Decimo, therefore my 'name'." **_Decimo lightly gestured to himself.

The experimentation part, Tsuna understood...and wished to forget. _Experiments are often repeated... Those poor souls like me... _But there was one part he didn't get.

"Project...Vongola?" Tsuna inquired, unsure if he heard it right.

Decimo nodded. _**"I myself am not sure of what our purpose was supposed to be, considering you don't know as well. I simply know the name."**_

"But...I didn't know the project was called Vongola, or that I am the tenth one to be tested on...How could _you_ know?" Tsuna cocked a brow.

_**"You **_**did _know,"_ **Decimo said, _**"You simply locked away the memory."**_

Images briefly flashed through Tsuna's mind.

* * *

_Tsuna lay helplessly on the operating table, all his limbs heavily cuffed down. He barely looked like a small boy he was, much less a human. _

They_ had just removed one of his eyes to work on the optic receptors in the brain. His left eyehole was red and bloody, and various injections were previously stabbed into it. The flesh on his forearms were peeled off, and the muscles and veins could plainly be seen. A large portion of his right forearm's muscle was removed, and the bone had a gash in it from the experiment. Stitches from some previous procedures snaked his legs. A long incision ran through the middle of his chest, starting from the neck to his stomach. Blood was dripping here and there. Attached to the cavity of his chest were large tubes and several wires. His lungs were conspicuously expanding and contracting as he was taking bated breaths. His heart was audibly pounding from pain._

_Wires and tubes riddled his body and were connected to large, sinister machines. They kept him alive, but the pain was still unbearable. It came upon him from every part of his body. Pools of blood stained the floor. His gouged-out eye lay in a small tray on one of the many operating tables beside him. Presently, a few of the masked operators entered the room._

_One of them walked over to Tsuna and proceeded to put his eye back. He sighed audibly._

_"How much longer do we have to experiment on this boy? His mother will get suspicious."_

_"Just a little longer," said another. He picked up a chart. "Soon, Project Vongola: Decimo will be finished."_

_Another operator walked over to the machine to look it over. "Let's just hope this one doesn't escape like the others..."_

Escape, huh... _Tsuna thought as the eye was reattached._

* * *

Tsuna hovered his free hand lightly over his left eye before resting his head on it.

_Damn it..._

Decimo suddenly realized what he had done. _**"I'm sorry," **_he said apologetically, _**"I didn't mean to make you remember those times."**_

"It's alright," Tsuna said softly, "You were simply answering my question."

Silence.

...

_..._

**_..._ **

Tsuna kept the mirror in his small satchel and sat in dead silence. Suddenly, it wasn't because he was reminded of his past.

_Footsteps...I hear footsteps shuffling...Who could be here? _

Tsuna cautiously stood up and looked around. He saw a shadow move at the corner of his eye, so he tilted his head in that direction.

And not a moment too soon.

There was a loud bang, and a bullet whizzed by Tsuna's head, where it would have killed him, had he not tilted his head just then. Tsuna caught sight of a man with a pistol in hand. The man was wearing a thick, black sweater and army green pants. He heard a few more footsteps and turned around to find a few more guys armed with pistols, shotguns, and what he believed to be tranquilizer guns, wearing similar apparel. A few more footsteps, and yet more men armed with guns. Tsuna winced.

Semi-automatic rifles.

"Am I...in the middle of a Yakuza crossfire?" Tsuna quietly muttered.

One of the armed men, who Tsuna presumed was the leader, took a few steps foreward.

"You're coming with us." He said rather strictly.

Tsuna sighed audibly. "This must be some sort of mistake. I'm not part of any gang or anything. I'm just a regular student. I come here when I'm depressed. You know, hormones." Tsuna thought about what he just said, and mentally face palmed at the last sentence. He sounded like some adult talking about how teenagers can be so rebellious.

"We know that," the leader said, "Sawada Tsunayoshi."

Tsuna flinched at hearing his name. _I guess that man Reborn isn't the one to kill me after all. _

"What do you want with me?" Tsuna asked loudly, though he already knew the answer.

The man pointed at Tsuna with his rifle. "You." His finger pulled at the trigger, and a loud bang was heard.

But the bullet missed.

By a mile.

Adrenaline got to Tsuna first, and he saw the man finger tense up just before he pulled the trigger. So Tsuna quickly extended the strap of his satchel and used it to hook to a beam above him and pull himself up.

The rest of the men proceeded to fire at him, though they just weren't hitting.

_What is wrong with their aim? _Tsuna thought rather disappointedly, _I expected far better to go after me. _He quickly scanned the ground below him and counted the number of armed men, who were now closing in on him.

_Just fifteen? _

Tsuna dropped down and gave a leg sweep that caused them to lose balance and fall down. They were in the middle of firing, so bullets briefly shot about wildly, some hitting the men themselves. Some of them got concussions.

_Seven down. _

Tsuna quickly ducked as a guy nearby fired shots at him. Tsuna zigzagged towards the man and once he got right beside the him, he elbowed him in the ribs, which sent the armed guy reeling to the ground. One man came up behind Tsuna, but he ducked just before another man shot a bullet in his direction. The first man went down, and Tsuna swiftly kicked the other's face down, smashing it into the concrete.

_Three down. _

Tsuna was able to give one of the men a strong uppercut, and another a quick knee to the face. Tsuna heard another bang, and his left arm was engulfed in searing pain. Tsuna put his right hand to the part where it hurt most and felt the shredded cloth of his shirt, and warm blood.

A hit.

Tsuna slowly backed away from the man who shot him as he thought of some means to escape. He saw some of the men on the ground get up slowly, their expression making it clear that they were _far _from happy. No, they were _pissed. _

_This is bad... _Tsuna grit his teeth in pain. The men were slowly approaching Tsuna, encasing him in a circle.

Then, a bang echoed in the warehouse.

But it wasn't from the men.

One of their own fell down in a dead heap, a bullet hole visible at the back of his head. Blood started to flow. The man's associates briefly stared at their comrade's dead body dumbfounded before frantically searching for the one who shot him. Two more gunshots were heard, and _three _men hit the ground. One by one, the assailants fell until only the leader was left.

He was trembling violently, and his eyes were wide open in fear. He could hear a gun cock behind him, and he felt the cold metal of the barrel press against the back of his head. That was the last thing he felt before falling to the rough concrete ground, dead.

As the body collapsed, Tsuna was able to see the face of the man who had saved him. Tsuna gazed at him for a few seconds.

"Reborn?" he said, pain evident in his voice.

Reborn smirked, and pushed up the brim of his hat with his gun.

"Chaos."

The pain finally became unbearable, and Tsuna fainted.


	5. Chapter 5 - The Hitman

_Katekyo Hitman REBORN belongs to the one and only Amano Akira. (I guess I'll keep disclaiming so long as I keep putting Author notes.)_

_Ah, yes, I'd like to say some stuff about a couple of reviews I got._

_To Narutopokefan: No, I'm afraid it's not shounen ai. I'm not quite sure where you got the idea, though, considering I've made no hint of romance whatsoever in my summary and story._

_To the guest reviewer, I'll take that as a compliment and thank you._

_To all you readers out there, if you want me to update chapters faster, longer and better, review your ass off. It's like my fanfic writing fuel. So long as it's nice. I accept constructive criticism, however. I definitely do NOT get heartbroken when I learn that I did something half-assed. Definitely not..._

_And in case there are any confusions, I'd like to say that I do not make plot inconsistencies. If you can't get it, it just means it's far too early for you to click the pieces together yet._

_Yea. I'm a freakin' enigma. Just don't forget to add 'screw-ass high on crack' when telling your friends about me._

_Read on..._

* * *

Chapter 5 - The Hit man

Tsuna felt like he got hit by a truck, then pounded on by Bacchantes, following a bunch of ninja ambushing him on his way to the hospital, which turned out to be a trap.

And then the truck came back, turned into a Transformer, and stomped on him repeatedly.

The Bacchantes then came back with a bunch of Amazons who had just gone on a drinking frenzy with them.

And then the ninjas ambushed him again, only this time, they had freak-ass ninjutsu like the kind in a certain anime who's protagonist's name can be translated to a certain ramen topping...

After a moment of colorful thoughts from Tsuna thinking about how he felt, he realized he was just groggy.

He slowly sat up and realized that he was in his bed. He clutched his head in an attempt to remember what the hell just happened.

_I think I was in the warehouse...ah, yes, then I talked with Decimo. And after that those men with guns appeared... Ah! My arm! _

Tsuna rolled back the sleeves of the red sweater he was wearing and examined his arm. The gunshot wound was lightly bandaged, and Tsuna could see that some dried blood was absorbed by the bandages, as it was stained with red. He carefully unravelled the bandages and winced when he saw the extent of the damage. The hole didn't make it all the way through, thank goodness, but he could see his veins, already having repaired themselves, running in the hole. It barely missed the bone, and Tsuna could swear he could literally see it. The bullet had been removed. Tsuna quickly went to the bathroom. He took off his shirt and washed the wound delicately. He discarded the used bandages, and lightly rubbed the edges of the wound, which slowly, but surely, started to heal. He headed back into his room and changed into a plain white T-shirt.

"Ah. You're awake."

Tsuna swivelled around to find Reborn leaning against the doorframe.

_**Trust him...**_Decimo's words echoed in his mind.

"You...brought me back here?" Tsuna inquired. In response, Reborn simply nodded. Tsuna quietly rubbed the area once was, considering that it had already healed.

"What of those men?" Reborn made a slashing gesture across his neck. Tsuna leaned on the wall and looked out his window, still somewhat troubled by the man's presence.

"I see," he said absently.

Reborn went over to Tsuna's desk and put a hand on the blue notebook. "Your answers were correct, by the way. All of them."

"Don't expect me to use all those answers," Tsuna said, "I'd prefer to barely pass."

Reborn sat at the edge of the desk. "And why not?"

Tsuna gazed at the eternal and expanding sky.

"You saw the consequences," he bitterly said, "I don't want to give those bastards a chance at getting me back." Tsuna turned to Reborn.

"I, however, accept your tutelage." He strained to keep his tone of voice calm, considering he somewhat detested the man.

Reborn slightly tilted his head to the side. "Hmm? I thought you didn't want to be tutored." Presently, a little green chameleon crawled onto the brim of the man's fedora.

_Okay, never noticed that... _

Tsuna shifted his gaze to the side. "I decided I should trust you."

Reborn smirked. "Excellent. Now, as for your homework..."

"On one condition," Tsuna interrupted.

Reborn raised an eyebrow, his steely onyx eyes showing that he was interested. "And what, pray tell, would that condition be?"

Tsuna crossed his arms and sat on his bed.

"You tell me exactly who you are, your purpose here, and your side of this story," he said determinedly.

Reborn stared at Tsuna. He sighed.

"Very well," he said, "Perhaps I shall start with what I exactly am."

"I'm pretty damn well sure you're not some ordinary tutor, so yes," Tsuna said.

"I'm a hit man."

Tsuna's eyes nearly buldged out of their sockets.

_A hit man. A freaking hit man was sent to me. _

Reborn probably noticed Tsuna's look, because he followed with, "Relax. Like I said, it's to tutor you. I'm not going to kill you."

Tsuna mentally sighed in relief.

"Alright..." Tsuna continued, "Your purpose here?"

The raven-haired hit man leaned back slightly. "Let's start from the beginning..."

* * *

_Reborn took a generous sip of espresso from the mug in his hands. __He sighed at its relaxing taste and looked out the window of the building he was in._

_Presently, a man was walking by below. His dark brown suit gave the impression that he was really wealthy, and his strong, muscular arms were dug into his pockets. His deep red hair was cut neatly, and normally sharp, ultramarine eyes were glistening with amusement. A woman came from the other direction. She had long, silky black hair that reached until her waist, despite being tied up by a shimmering prismatic ribbon. She was dressed in a playful white shirt and a black skirt which reached her knees. Her emerald eyes shimmered with delight as she caught sight of the man, and vice versa. They gave each other a kiss before the woman took his arm into hers._

_Reborn took that as his cue._

_He quickly loaded his gun, and shot two bullets, each aimed for the two people. The two bangs resounded, and the couple hit the cold concrete as the blood started to pool from their heads, where they had been shot._

Mission accomplished_, __Reborn thought._

_All in a day's work for the greatest hit man in the world._

_He slurped up the rest of his espresso and got ready to leave. He suddenly caught sight of a little girl in a pure white dress. Her shoulder-length hair was as black as the night itself, and her ultramarine eyes were wide with shock, and brimming with tears. She ran over to the fallen couple, and feel to her knees. She was crying loudly as she gazed at their bleeding bodies._

_"Aiuto! Aiuto!" she wailed, "Medici! Polizia! Chiunque!"_

_The man's arm moved ever so slightly, and the little girl went over to him and grabbed it. The man weakly reached into his shirt pocket and gave her a small package. The woman also moved slightly as well. The little girl also grabbed her hand, and the woman undid the ribbon from her hair with trembling hands._

_Reborn frowned. They weren't dead yet. He once again readied his gun. As he did so, he could see the woman give the little girl her ribbon, which miraculously bore no blood. He took aim and fired twice, again at both of the people._

_Their blood splattered lightly upon the girl, and she sat there motionless as the couple's grip on her hands slowly slipped away. She gazed at the now dead bodies before looking in the direction of where the bullets came from. Her eyes met Reborn's, but all he did was keep his gun._

_She was not on his list._

_Her look quickly turned into rage. Reborn swiftly left, but not before hearing the girl call after him._

_"Bastardo!"_

_..._

_The hit man quietly knocked upon the large wooden door before entering._

_"They have been killed, sir," he quietly said._

_"I see..."_

_Brief silence._

_"Now, I need you to do me a favor, which also relates to your previous mission..."_

_"Yes?"_

_The now-aging man linked his hands together and rested on them, his elbows on the wooden desk he was sitting at._

_"The next one has been activated. In a few years' time, when he's thirteen, perhaps, I need you to go train him, to make him stronger. You are the only one who can do this."_

_Reborn nodded. He has heard of the project before, and didn't need to be elaborated on it._

_"Alright. Who is it, and where shall I head?"_

_The man opened his drawer, took out some files, and handed them to the hit man. Reborn scanned them, and stared at a slightly scorched picture of a young boy with spiky brown hair and soft brown eyes. Reborn read his name._

_Sawada Tsunayoshi._

_"Reborn," the old man, "Soon, you'll be headed to Japan. Namimori, to be precise..."_

_... _

* * *

"...and that's how it happened," Reborn finished.

Somewhere in the middle of the story, Tsuna had gone on his bed and was now leaning on the wall, while Reborn had pulled a cup of coffee out of nowhere.

Tsuna nodded. "And exactly who is this person? I know he's, '_the one before me'..._" Reborn winced at Tsuna's slightly mocking mimicry of his words, and made a mental note to take revenge on him later. "...but could you give me a name, perhaps?"

"Timoteo."

"Ah."

"Well." Reborn pried himself off the desk. "Now that you know, I guess I won't have to hold back."

Tsuna raised a brow, slightly tilting his head. "Hold back?"

Reborn gave a chilling smile. "In my training."

Hell knows no wrath like a freaking Spartan home tutor.

* * *

_Hello there. Sane side of me here. Sorry that I got high in the first part, and that this is slightly shorter than the last. But don't worry. It usually happens that when I make the chapters, it's first pretty high, goes low for a while, but then jumps to the next thousand or so._

_I hope you enjoyed!_

_And did you notice a small pattern, hmm?_


	6. Chapter 6 - Famiglia

Chapter 6- Famiglia

BOOM!

There was a blast. Then another. Then another still.

Tsuna flipped a few times to prevent himself from getting hurt too much. He allowed his feet to stay put on the ground for a few moments, his feet skidding backwards for a few moments, before fell forwards, onto his knees. His hand shot in front in front of him, preventing a very painful- and humiliating - face plant with the rough ground. His hair was a mess, more than it usually is, if that's possible. Bruises decorated his body, and his clothes were singed. Dirt covered him, and he was plain exhausted. He looked up and got off his knees. No, he wasn't going to surrender just because he was damn tired, it was four in the morning, he was starving, and he's being assaulted by a few explosions.

And he's _especially _not going to surrender to..._ him_.

The accursed man who had been put into poor Tsuna's life a few hours ago stepped out of the smoke which resulted from the explosion. In his hand was a small bomb, which he can, and _will_ use. He smirked that sinister smirk of his, his elegant suit and raven hair surprisingly as prim and proper as ever. His little chameleon, which Tsuna has come to know as Leon, was sitting snugly in his fedora. Reborn held up the little bomb.

"Who was the first person to prove that the Earth is a sphere, and is definitely not flat?" he said.

Tsuna grit his teeth. Reborn's stupid method of training him involved him asking random trivia questions to, quote, 'make sure that he stops answering questions that he knows incorrectly'. If he didn't answer it correctly, _boom_, a bomb gets thrown at him. Worst part is, no one will come to see what's going on because the place they were training in was an isolated area on the outskirts of town. The rough terrain had a few trees here and there, and rocks jutted out randomly.

" Five seconds."

Tsuna racked his brain. _Think, think... he was Spanish, right? _

"Four..."

_Oh, wait, he was Portugese. He just served under the Spain because Portugal didn't support his idea or something..._

"Three..."

_Name, name...starts with...letter F..._

"Two..."

_It's on the tippity-tip of my tongue... _

"One."

_Dammit! _The bomb was thrown at him, and Tsuna jumped backwards and shielded his face with his arms just as the bomb detonated near him.

"It was Ferdinand Magellan, Dame-Tsuna." Reborn said, satisfied with the explosion.

It went on like this for a while.

"Who discovered America?"

"Christopher Columbus?"

"Vikings."

"What the-?!"

_BOOM. _

"Where can olms be found?"

"What the_ hell_ is an olm?!"

_BOOM. _

"What happens to grapes when you put them in a microwave?"

"They dehydrate?"

"They explode."

_GRAPE BOOM. _

"What was the breed of the first dog in space?"

"Okay, now you're just making things up!"

_BOOM. _

After a few questions and bombs, Reborn finally decided to let Tsuna rest. At this point, his shirt was shredded, and his pants were in no better condition. Tsuna glared at Reborn.

"This..._haah haah_...is just..._haah_...part of your training..._haah_...regime...isn't it?! You're..._haah huff_...gonna throw a bomb at me..._hah hah_...when my back is turned..._hah hah_...aren't you?!" Tsuna said between bated breaths, suspicion written all over his dirtied face.

"Are you going to take a break or not?" Reborn slightly gestured to a tree that was felled a while back. After Tsuna glared at him for a few seconds, he started to walk - or rather, limp - towards the felled tree.

_BOOM. _

Tsuna staggered forwards, and landed face flat on the floor. _Urg. _He got up and narrowed his eyes at Reborn. Reborn merely smirked, and tilted his fedora.

"_Now _you may rest." Reborn snidely remarked.

_That stupid, sadistic, demonic, cold-blooded, hellish, mad, mentally retarded, psychotic, bastardic- _

"'Bastardic' isn't a real word, Dame-Tsuna."

_What the hell, he can read my mind?! _

"Reading minds isn't real. You're just _that _easy to read, Dame-Tsuna. You should work on hiding your intentions," Reborn scolded.

Tsuna simply trudged back to the now comfortable-looking tree and slumped onto it. Reborn proceeded to shoot down another tree, which landed in front of Tsuna, who had a _'wtf?'_ look on his face. Reborn then seated himself on the tree he shot down, and pulled a mug of coffee out of nowhere. Tsuna sighed, and then a brief silence was exchanged between the two.

"Hey, Reborn," Tsuna finally said, breaking the silence.

"Hmm?"

"I forgot to ask, what does Timoteo do for a living, if he's not with _them _anymore?"

"Oh, he's the boss of the most powerful Mafia famiglia in the entire world."

"Oh, okay..."

...

"Wait, WHAT?!"

Reborn sighed a little before taking a little sip from his coffee.

"Timoteo," he began, "is the boss of the Vongola family, the strongest famiglia in the world. Problem?"

Tsuna fumbled with his shredded shirt. "It's just... I didn't expect...an experiment like me to..."

Reborn slurped loudly, causing Tsuna's eye to twitch.

"Look, I'll say what is necessary, and if something isn't clear, you can ask a question after my explanation." Reborn looked down disdainfully at his now empty coffee mug. "For the price of an espresso."

Tsuna sighed. "I'll make you one when we head back."

Reborn nodded. "Right. For starters, you know about the Mafia, right? I don't need to elaborate on that?"

Tsuna nodded.

"Good. Well," Reborn started, "it started about 400 years ago, with the first experiment. He wanted to use the skills that he was given to protect the weak so that no one may suffer, and to protect those precious to him. And so he formed a vigilante group comprised of people with special talents and abilities, and other experiments like him."

"Other experiments?" Tsuna asked as he tilted his head ever so slightly to the side. In a flash, his face was smashed into the floor due to a 'little' kick to the back of his head, courtesy of Reborn.

"I said _after _my explanation, Dame-Tsuna."

Tsuna groaned, and re-positioned himself back onto the log, Reborn going back to the other log.

"As I was saying," Reborn continued, "He decided to form a vigilante group comprised of special people, experiments like him. He named this group Vongola, after the project, to remind its members of its purpose. And yes, Dame-Tsuna, there's more than one human experimentation project in this world," Reborn said as he shot a glare at Tsuna.

Tsuna clenched his fists. The very thought of more than one human experimentation group was...infuriating. How can people be so cruel to their own kind? How pitiful is the race which harms its own kind for self-benefit!

"It became a Mafia organization when the second experiment came to take over the famiglia. Unlike the first experiment, the second experiment had been corrupted," Reborn said gravely, "His body was drastically altered, and his mind was affected as well. He gained a great amount of power lust, and wished to make the Vongola stronger. He unfortunately got the wrong idea about the first experiment's goals, and eventually integrated the Vongola into the Mafia." Reborn stared up at the sky. "We now refer to the experiments according to their ordinal numbers since all those experimented on in Project Vongola eventually became the boss of the famiglia. For example, we call the first experiment Primo, the second experiment Secondo, and so on and so forth."

_Decimo, then, for the tenth experiment. And since he is technically me... _Tsuna frowned a little more at the thought.

Reborn looked at Tsuna once again. "The current boss of the Vongola famiglia is Timoteo, who we in the Vongola refer to as Nono. He was the one who sent me here to train you."

"To be the next boss?" Tsuna quietly murmured.

Reborn nodded. "Now that I'm done, do you have any questions?"

Tsuna decided to put arguing with Reborn about not wanting to be a Mafia boss for later, when he was fully recovered. He thought about what has happened the past few days.

"The hit," Tsuna mentioned after a while, "Why did you have to elaborate on your assassination assignment for the day?"

Reborn hummed for a few seconds. "I wanted to emphasize the point that I am a hit man, and I felt like it." He pouted a bit. "I also wanted you to know. I'm afraid that the little girl may show up while I'm here, deadly and seeking revenge. I'm kind of worried about her..." Reborn slowly started to drift into his own thoughts, receiving a raised eyebrow from Tsuna. He was _worried _about the child of one of his hits? Is that supposed to be normal for hit men? Tsuna thought not.

Tsuna decided to break Reborn out of his train of thought with another question.

"How does training me involve that hit?"

Reborn looked back at Tsuna, and silently thought of the answer.

"That little girl was a potential Vongola member. She had a high IQ, an enhanced comprehension rate, and was extremely adaptable. Had we just left you alone, that woman would come to kill you after gathering all the information she needed, and succeed."

Tsuna shuddered, and after a little while, Reborn tutted whilst shaking his head.

"The fact that you just shuddered means that I'll have to train you _extra _hard."

Tsuna held his shudder back this time. "Anything else?" Reborn asked.

"Yes," Tsuna said.

"What?"

Tsuna looked down at his hands and started tracing imaginary circles his palm with his thumb. "The experiment is continuously repeated and happens on different intervals because all the previous people who worked on the project are killed and the files are destroyed after and by every experiment. But..." Tsuna paused. "...how the hell are _they _able to keep on doing the experiment, if every file on the previous experiments was destroyed, and the people working on those experiments were killed?"

Reborn looked away.

"..."

"Let's head back, Dame-Tsuna," Reborn said.

"But what about-"

"It's a question for another time," Reborn interrupted. He stood up and brushed some imaginary dust off his suit.

Tsuna sighed, figuring that he won't get anything more from the man unless he felt like it. "Can I at least ask one more thing, regarding my training?"

"What?"

"Why did you use bombs?"

Reborn, in answer, lowered his fedora over his eyes, smirked, and said, "Preparation. And that's all I'm going to say."

* * *

Tsuna dabbed at one of the many bleeding spots of his body.

He sat contentedly on his bed- shirtless, if I may add- doing his best to clean up the best he could. Thankfully, during the many incidents he has had with bullies, he was practically an expert at fixing himself up. Hell, he could probably become a doctor one day if he bothered to go through all those procedures.

He winced a little as he applied the bandages on his stomach. He was able to finish up with his legs a while ago and was wearing a clean set of pants.

He then put on a nice, teal hoodie and discarded all of the stuff he used to cure his pitiful body.

Reborn, on the other hand, was sipping on an espresso he made Tsuna make for him _before_ he was feeling better. He silently looked at Tsuna. Tsuna, who has been feeling the hit man's glare burning through his god forsaken neck the entire time, shot a glare at Reborn, his distaste for the 'home tutor' growing every passing second.

"What is it?" Tsuna spat.

"You need to stop being dame in school, Dame-Tsuna."

Tsuna raised an eyebrow. "Tried that once. And look where it got me now..."

Reborn flicked Tsuna's forehead...hard.

Tsuna gripped his forehead in pain. "What the hell was that for?!"

"I know what you were implying in that sentence, Dame-Tsuna. And I'm here as a blessing, not a curse."

"Stop reading my mind, dammit!"

"Besides," Reborn continued, ignoring Tsuna's last statement, "once you hide, you just keep hiding. And to stay in hiding for the rest of your life is pathetic. It just means that they'll grow much, much stronger as time passes by. What if they decide to target another experiment as well? I'd pity the poor child..."

Reborn narrowed his eyes at Tsuna. "

"If things stay like that, then the world will fall to ruin. That's why we're giving you a choice. One, stay in hiding forever and live in self pity. Two..." Reborn jabbed Tsuna's forehead once again, causing the poor brunette to reel back.

"WHAT THE-?!"

"...You actually accept our help and become strong so that you can make sure that no more children have to suffer."

Tsuna sat up straight, silently contemplating over his decision. He _knew_ what humans were capable of doing to their own kind. He knew the kind of pain that they can inflict. For even more to feel that kind of pain, and for it to be worse...the thought was unbearable. Tsuna looked up at the tall hit man towering over him.

"I'll go for option two, thanks."

Reborn smirked. "All of the previous bosses have chosen that path as well."

Tsuna shifted his feet so that he was in a squatting position.

"But, I don't want to just...be not dame all of a sudden. That would seem weird. Maybe...I could just slowly get better?"

Reborn hummed. "I suppose. We're withholding your results of that nationwide test, by the way. As for them...well, the Vongola will find a way to get their asses in check. For the meantime."

Tsuna sighed. "Thank goodness. Now for that homework..." Tsuna went over to his desk to get the notebook for his assignment and started jotting down several answers. He purposely answered some wrong, of course.

"Speaking of school," Reborn leaned against a wall, "if you were so intent on not getting attention, why did you decide to answer that test right?"

Tsuna's hand froze, the line of the kanji he was writing down discontinued. He turned his head away from Reborn.

"That decision wasn't made by me."

"Hmm? Then someone forced you?"

Tsuna shook his head. "It just wasn't mine to make, I suppose."

_**It was. It just wasn't 'you'.**_

* * *

White.

As far as he could see, it was white.

And it was damn annoying.

_Yeesh, it's like a really big empty room. _Tsuna started to walk around, looking for the end of the expanse of white, but eventually got tired.

_Damn, if only I had a chair to sit on... _Just as he thought that, a quiant, little, wooden chair appeared right in front of him.

_Oh, s***__! _

He looked around. _Is this supposed to be my mind or something? Wait, then how the hell did I get tired?! _He sat himself at the chair.

Answers. He needed answers.

_**Then you shall have them.** _Decimo appeared before Tsuna, also sitting down, but upon something similar to a throne.

_Decimo? _

_**First of all. You need to listen to this man. I know how much you hate him, but this is the only way we can become strong enough to stop human experimentation. Second, you will always have me to help, don't forget that. Third, what is happening to you right now is vague for a reason. Just let things unfold. This is all I can say, for now... **_

_What?_

* * *

Darkness.

Everywhere, there was darkness.

It was terrifying.

_Where am I now? _He shifted his hand beside him and felt the soft cloth of his blanket. He was at home. Tsuna fumbled for his alarm clock, and tried to comprehend why he couldn't see the LED digits upon it which would indicate the time, and why the night was darker than usual. He felt his way to the light switch, the layout of his room imprinted in his mind. He flicked it, but nothing happened.

_A blackout_, Tsuna realized. After acknowledging the fact, he started to panic.

_Is it them again? Are they here? Oh, dear, mother! _

_**Relax, Tsuna. **_Decimo's voice echoed. _**It's just a simple blackout. There's no danger. Go back to sleep.**_

Tsuna reluctantly went back in his bed in fell asleep.

* * *

He readied himself and checked if he was ready.

Tsuna adjusted his tie in front of his mirror before he went downstairs, only to be greeted by Reborn eating breakfast already.

"So how do you like it, Reborn-san?" Tsuna's mother inquired.

"It's fantastic."

"Why, thank you!" Nana said, before she noticed Tsuna.

"Oh, Tsuna! Good to see you're already awake! Come, I've already made breakfast!"

"Thanks, mom," Tsuna gratefully said as he went over to the table to eat. Nana went away to somewhere in the house to probably do some work around their house.

"Your mother's cooking is really good, Dame-Tsuna."

"I know. And if you know that I'm just acting dame, then why are you still calling me that?"

"It's catchy."

"WTH."

Tsuna finished off his breakfast, all the while debating with Reborn about some random topics.

"I don't think anyone can use 100% of their brain at once."

"I can."

"THAT'S DAMN IMPOSSIBLE!"

"It's not for me, because I'm the world's greatest hit man."

"WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING?!"

Tsuna grabbed his bag and put on his shoes.

"I'm leaving!" He called out. Reborn was standing over him, and Tsuna stood up, trying to look intimidating despite being much shorter than the older male.

"I don't suppose you're going to follow me to school."

Reborn rolled his eyes. "Don't worry, I'm not, jeez."

Tsuna opened the door and went out.

"A little advice, Dame-Tsuna," Reborn called out from the doorway.

"Be prepared."

* * *

Tsuna slumped over his desk, waiting for classes to start and for the day to end. At the same time, he was trying to understand what Reborn meant.

_Be prepared? What does he mean by that? I mean, the results of the previous tests were withheld, and everyone has been convinced that my test result was just an elaborate prank that the ones who held the test decided to do so that they can encourage the students to work harder on their education, not like it will help. What must I be prepared for? _The bell rang, and shortly afterwards, the teacher came in.

"Okay class, settle down," he said, "We will be having a new student with us today!" Tsuna rested his head on his hand, only half-interested, as opposed to his classmates, who were excitedly whispering and mumuring about it.

"Please come in and introduce yourself," the teacher said.

The student who came in had silver hair that reached somewhere until his chin. His eyes were a shade of green, and his arms and hands were decorated with bracelets, rings, and the like. He had an air of delinquency about him, he wore the uniform rather messily, and he had a scowl on his face. Despite that, a collected amount of fangirl shrieks could be heard in the classroom, as they perceived him as 'cool' and 'hot'.

"Please introduce yourself to the class," the teacher said.

"The new student grunted. "My name is Gokudera Hayato."

* * *

_Once again, I'm sorry for updating late. I'm practically drowning in projects._

_I'd like to clarify the following:_

_-Reborn sleeps in a guest room. He doesn't sleep in Tsuna's room. That's freakin' pedo._

_-The experiments are done at different times, done by different people. Practically none of the experiments are like the last due to lost files and killed surgeons. The reason why it was able to continue on...that's for another time._

_-The assassination scene is for something else I'm working on. Reborn knows about the experiments because he's the greatest hit man in the world. Capisce?_

_-I will make things longer. Just wait._

_-It won't update any faster, and you've got my school to blame for that._

_-And, as I've already said, don't question the events before the next chapter, dammit! It's supposed to be an enigma which will be reavealed later on. Capisce?_

_Did you notice that my writing style changed? I don't know if it's good, though. I hope you enjoyed! Reviews are appreciated._

_Ciao~_

_P.S. Did you notice the slight pattern yet?_


	7. Chapter 7 - Smokin' Bomb

Chapter 7- Smokin' Bomb

"My name is Gokudera Hayato."

Tsuna flinched, not for any reason that he himself was aware of. _What the... _

He noticed that the student now identified as Gokudera Hayato was going for the seat beside him. Their eyes briefly met, and Tsuna could see something in Gokudera's eyes. Determination. But not just any type of determination.

The determination to fight.

Gokudera, on the other hand, couldn't help but feel like he should know this person. Not like he had encountered him before, but he just felt like he needed to know that person. He immediately concluded that all he felt was that the boy was in _his_ seat.

And so he promptly pulled Tsuna out of his seat by the collar and sat down on the chair the poor brunette was previously sitting on.

"I-Itaii..."

Gokudera promptly grunted, while Tsuna got into the empty seat beside him. Tsuna sighed, knowing that he might be a new addition to the numerous amount of people bullying him. Thank goodness he was planning to fight back a little from now on...

On the other hand Gokudera was glaring at Tsuna from the corner of his eye.

Why did hurting the boy feel so wrong?

"Alright, let's get on with our lessons!" the teacher announced, and Gokudera was broken out of his train of thought.

* * *

Tsuna sighed as he retreated to the school grounds to think a little. On the way, he bumped into the guys that he encountered the fateful day he met Decimo.

"OI! What _idiot_ bumped into-" one of the grunts was saying until he realized it was Tsuna. In turn, Tsuna gave a little glare that only they could see. "Da-dame-Tsu-Tsu-" the grunt stuttered.

"Hmm?" Tsuna said.

The grunts immediately ran away, and Tsuna smiled to himself. Even if no one saw him, he felt rather good about standing up for himself. He walked out when a pungeant odor suddenly permeated the air.

Carbon monoxide. Cigarette smoke.

He recognizes that smell from all the times he's gone to the shopping district. He'd be walking by a man-occasionally a woman-with a cigarette inbetween either his lips or his fingers, and the odor would reach his nose. Tsuna glanced around and realized that the new transfer student was in front of him, cigarette in his mouth.

"Tch," he said, "so you're Sawada Tsunayoshi?"

Tsuna gulped. "Yes?"

"Che." Gokudera took the cigarette out of his mouth and blew out some smoke before replacing the cigarette back into his mouth. He then started to walk away, leaving a very confused Tsuna.

_What was that all about? _Tsuna was suddenly self-conscious about the time and tried to calculate the amount of time that has passed.

_Damn! I'm going to be late for the next class! _Tsuna rushed off to his classroom.

Gokudera got the cigarette out of his mouth and dropped it onto the floor. He stomped on it, effectively putting out the flame at the end of it.

_He will die before the day ends. _

* * *

Tsuna sighed as he walked home.

_The new kid is an annoying pain in the ass. _

Yes, from day one, Tsuna concluded that the new transfer student will be the death of him, if not his sanity. Tsuna pinched the bridge of his nose as he recalled what had happened.

* * *

_It was P.E. class and the guys were playing soccer. Tsuna actually wasn't tripping, and the game seemed to go a lot better._

_"Pass me the ball!"_

_Tsuna kicked it over to his teammate who kicked it into the goal. Tsuna's team cheered, and got ready for the next set. It took a while, but in the end, they won the game._

_"Okay, great job everyone!" the teacher shouted, "Class is over for today! Dismissed!"_

_Some of Tsuna's teammates went over to him._

_"Wow, Dame-Tsuna," one of them said, "you actually did pretty well out there!"_

_"Yeah!" another said, "You didn't trip!"_

_Tsuna rubbed the back of his head. "I guess it's just my lucky da-"_

_WHAM! Tsuna fell face flat onto the floor, all thanks to a soccerball to the back of his head. _

_"Itaii..." Tsuna stood back up, rubbing his face of dirt. Tsuna went to face the little bastard who did it._

Gokudera Hayato, _Tsuna thought quite bitterly. The boy, in return, merely muttered a little "Tch," before turning around and walking away. Tsuna scowled a little at the reaction. _

What's his problem?

* * *

Tsuna grimaced. Hell just loves to send little demons into his life.

_Ba-bum._

Tsuna abruptly stopped. He glanced at the surrounding before him, scanning calculatedly and withheld from turning his head to look behind him.

_Someone's following me. _Tsuna quickly jumped to the side. Just in time, for an explosion occurred at the place where he had been previously standing. He landed on his right foot before jumping away once again, the explosion almost tearing at his back. Tsuna landed once again on his right foot, hesitating before putting down the other foot as well. Tsuna desperately tried to look beyond the smoke now filling the air for the one throwing the bombs. He stood defensively on impulse; all that 'answer-this-question-right-or-go-BOOM' training actually paid off.

_Wait a minute- _

Tsuna's thoughts were interrupted as a foul stench permeated through the air.

He knew that odor.

Tsuna briefly saw a wisp of silver hair before five more bombs were thrown at him. He back-flipped and landed well away from the explosions that followed.

_No, not bombs, exactly. Dynamite. _

A flash of emerald eyes. Ten more sticks of dynamite followed suit.

_This isn't good. At this rate the neighborhood will come out to see what's going on... _Tsuna ran the opposite direction the dynamite sticks were being thrown from. He ran quickly, dashing through streets, dodging the sticks of dynamite, trying to find a place where they can settle things. Tsuna sprinted forward as two sticks of dynamite erupted behind him, the odor seemingly getting stronger. Tsuna looked at the building ahead of him.

A large, abandoned hotel.

Tsuna scowled. _I__t should do. _He quickly ran inside and closed the door shut behind him. He locked the door, knowing that it would be opened, but decided that it could serve as a warning. The sound of it being opened would reach his ears and warn him of the bomber's prescence. He was about to dash through the decrepit lobby room when a voice inside his head told him to stop. Specifically, Decimo.

_**Stop, Tsuna. It's a trap. **_Tsuna's eyes widened at this. _What?_

**_Look at the floor._ **

Tsuna looked carefully and saw that the floor was not smooth. Small bumps, barely visible, could be seen protruding from the floor, the dirt of the bulges messy, as though something was dug into the earth.

Land mines. Extremely pressure sensitive. The resulting explosion would cause the entire building to collapse on him.

_Looks like he has more than dynamite up his sleeves. _

Tsuna was broken out of thought. The smell of carbon monoxide was close.

Swiftly acting, Tsuna went as far away as he could from the wall beside the entrance, ran towards it, and leapt as high as he could towards it. As soon as his foot made contact with the wall, he pushed himself away from it as hard as he could, propelling himself towards the dusty chandelier that hung over the mine-ridden floor. He quickly grabbed onto it and swung himself over to the stairs, where there were no more mines.

Parkour, bitches.

He quickly ran over to the top of the stairs, in front of the broken elevator, in the center of the entire floor. He overlooked the railings just in time to see the door blast open. A silver-haired male stepped dramatically out of the smoke, four sticks of dynamite in each hand, a cigarette pursed in between his lips. Tsuna grimaced as he looked down at the other male.

"Well. I suppose this is a surprise," Tsuna said sarcastically.

"What business do you have with me, Gokudera Hayato?"

* * *

_Gokudera Hayato scowled as he looked at the young brunette before him._

_Oh, that man had to be sh***ing with him._

_The brunette had a rather thin physique, to the point it looked feminine. Hell, even his voice sounded pretty pathetically feminine. Someone didn't hit puberty yet..._

_Sawada Tsunayoshi._

_This pathetic excuse of a male couldn't _possibly _be his target...could he?_

_"Tch, you're Sawada Tsunayoshi?"_

_Gokudera could visibly see the other male gulp."Yes?"_

_"Che."_

_He really was his target._

_Which meant he had to spill his blood._

* * *

Gokudera thought of the event that took place. He came to Japan from Italy to kill _this _kid?

He was deeply disappointed. Well, _was. _That was before he noticed that the little 'feminine' brunette was somehow able to dodge all of his bombs _and _avoid the mines he set in place ahead of time.

"What business do you have with me, Gokudera Hayato?" the brunette called out from his place. Gokudera restrained himself from blanching. How did this kid do all that he was able to do? But at the moment, Gokudera's thoughts were more along the lines of, '_How DARE that figlio di puttana mock me like that!' _

"What _business_ do I have with you?!" he growled.

"I'm here to f***ing kill you!"

Gokudera quickly deactivated the mines using a kill switch in his pocket before he dashed forward after the brunette. Tsuna, in turn forced the elevator doors open and climbed up the rusty cable wires. After swiftly climbing up at speeds that could rival a monkey's, Tsuna stopped at one of the floor doors and pried it open with his hands before climbing inside and shutting the doors behind him. He decided to hide inside one of the decrepit rooms. He went inside one, and found that the walls of the rooms were broken down, so all the rooms beside each other were all connected. Which meant that if the bomber went in even one of the conjoined rooms, he'd immediately spot Tsuna.

_S***. _

And what do you know, Fate just loves to mess with Tsuna, for one of the doors blasted open, and emerald eyes met caramel ones.

_Double s***. _

A few sticks of dynamite were tossed in his direction, and Tsuna did his best to dodge all of them, Unfortunately, his back got scorched from a stick that exploded too near to him, tearing off the cloth. The remaining cloth was thrown forward, leaving Tsuna's back a little burnt, and the boy shirtless, revealing a rather slim yet well-toned body.

Are any of you ladies nosebleeding yet?

Hold it in, you don't want to stain the keyboard.

Tsuna threw his hand in front of him before his face could meet the pavement and flipped forward. He twisted his body, so when he landed- legs bent, one knee a lower than the other, left hand on the lower knee, skidding backwards - he was facing Gokudera. Tsuna's hair was frazzled, sticking out a little more than usual, and he was covered in bruises from head to toe. He narrowed his eyes at Gokudera as he grit his teeth.

"Che!" More sticks of dynamite were thrown, and Gokudera's shout of 'Double Bomb!' fell upon deaf ears as the explosions resounded throughtout the decrepit hall of conjoined rooms. Tsuna desperately tried to dodge all the bombs, all the while trying to calculate the fundamentals and patterns in the technique.

_There's no liable way to dodge them completely in such a small area! The only way I could possibly nullify the attack is... _

Tsuna licked the pads of his fingers, those on one hand before the next as the bomber started lighting the next set of dynamites, substituting his cigarette as a lighter for the fuses.

Screw the keyboard. Flood the whole room with noseblood for all I care.

"Double Bomb!" Dynamite flew all over the place, and eventually hit the ground.

They didn't explode. Not so much as a little fizzle.

Gokudera looked at the scene in disbelief._ What the-? _

"Hm, that went rather well."

Gokudera turned his head just in time to see Tsuna's foot hit his face and throw him across the room. He hit the wall, and it cracked upon the sudden impact of the force. Gokudera forced himself back up. In the place where he previously stood, Tsuna was glaring at him, small hints of smoke coming off of each hand.

_Now way! Did he put them all out?! I didn't even see him move!_

Tsuna dusted his hands. "Well, that's insulting. Of course I put them all out." Gokudera looked on in disbelief.

"How did you know-?"

"It's evident on your face," the brunette cut in. "It was pretty easy to tell what you were thinking. Damn, I sound like Reborn," he said as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

The bomber, who had taken a few steps forward, widened his eyes. "Did you just say-"

He was thrown forward by a strong kick to the back, and after some time midair, his face hit the floor. He stood up once again, and let out a 'che'. Tsuna was right where Gokudera previously was, foot wavering in the air before he put it down.

_How does he move so fast?! _

Gokudera saw Tsuna bend down a bit, something of a slouching motion, and discreetly slid out a small stick of dynamite. He held it gingerly, for one side held an explosive adhesive. If he could just catch one of his attacks...

Tsuna busted his way out the door, taking Gokudera by surprise.

_He's not going to try to finish me off? And what's with that strength... _Quickly shaking his thoughts off, he headed out the door in pursuit.

* * *

Tsuna went out the door, trying to figure out how to get out of this damned place. He could swear that if any more explosions would be let out, the entire place would fall apart. Hell, he was even swearing under his breath at that instant.

"S***. F***. S***. F***..."

He continued chanting the two words trying to find a way out. But it was becoming hopeless. The windows were lined in tripwire. The slightest movement would activate a bomb trap. And after all the floors he's gone up, Tsuna doubts that even if he can find a way to deactivate the trap, he's going to survive that fall. He'd end up a flat tuna pancake. Yes, I intended for that to be spelled 'tuna'.

He went to the next floor to find one lone, long corridor. Only one door was upon the length of wall, and other than that, there was only the staircase leading to the floors above and below it. Curiosity getting the better of him (not to mention making him forget the situation he was in entirely) he went inside the huge room.

It was huge.

The room seemed to continue on to the next few floors. A spiral staircase lining the walls led to several, large, metal catwalks crisscrossing the area above.

_Insanity. Honestly. Who the f*** would make this? What in hell did they use this for? _

His thoughts were interrupted as he heard footsteps thundering up the staircase, accompanied by the sounds of explosions.

_Oh. Right. Being chased by a psychopathic madman who wishes to kill me. S***. _

Tsuna raced up the stairs, skipping a few steps here and there, going for as high as he can climb.

_**Don't run away.**_

Tsuna immediately stopped in his tracks as the familiar voice resounded in his head.

_But I have to get away..._

**_No. We need to become stronger. This is the perfect chance._**

_What...?_

**_Kill him._**

_WHAT?!_

**_If you kill this person, you can become stronger. We will decrease the amount of hypocrites and sadists in this world, starting with him._**

_But I don't want to take his life!_

**_But he just tried to take yours._ **

Decimo's voice was calm, yet seemed to make his head throb. Tsuna gripped his head, for the intensity of the pain was simply unbearable.

_**There doesn't have to be any blood. Just a quick snap of his neck should do the trick.**_

Tsuna bent over in pain. "AGHH! STOP IT!"

_**It won't take long.**_

""SHUT UP!"

_**Just let me take over, if you want to. It won't take long...**_

"**SHUT UP!**"

The door flew open, and out of the smoke, the said man whom Decimo wishes for Tsuna to kill majestically stepped out.

* * *

_I'm going to kill him._

_I'm going to make sure that he'll face a painful and gruelling death._

_He and his kind._

_They will die._

_I'll make them rot in Tartarus._

_Their evil race._

_They deserve not to walk the face of the earth._

_I _will _eliminate them._

_For what they have done._

_I will wipe them out._

_I will kill them all._

_It will all start by the death of this man._

_He will pay._

_They will pay._

_They will all pay._

_I will eliminate them._

_They do not deserve to live._

_I will eliminate them._

_They will suffer._

_I will eliminate them._

_And it will all start by his death. _

These were Gokudera's thoughts as he searched frantically for Sawada Tsunayoshi.

He had to kill him. He saw his capabilities.

Sawada Tsunayoshi should not live.

_But, at that time, he could have killed me, finished me off... _

No. He needed to die.

Sawada Tsunayoshi would die.

"**SHUT UP!**"

The shout came from the floor above him. Gokudera immedately went for it. He saw the long corridor, and the lone door. He decided to blast the door open. As the door flung open, he noticed that the door didn't make the usual metallic crack he heard whenever he blasted open locked doors.

Which meant that it wasn't locked.

_Ah, damn, it wasn't locked. I could have just opended it. Ah, well. It wouldn't have been as dramatic. _

He stepped out of the smoke and immediately spotted Tsuna. Their eyes met each other, and Gokudera was taken aback by the young brunette's eyes. They seemed to fade from their usual brown color to a bright amber variation, and then fade back. His eyes continually changed, and the emotion within them was deep, and changing as well.

Hate. Concern. Hate. Pain. Hate. Sorrow.

Tsuna suddenly jerked his head downwards and gripped his head as he tried to surpress a cry of pain. This was his chance. This was Gokudera's chance to kill him. His hand wavered over where he stored his special weapon. He thought that if Tsuna would eventually get to this room, that if he proved too much trouble, he'd use 'it' as the coup de grace.

But he couldn't bring himself to pull it out.

_Something's wrong here. Is it because it's pathetic to injure someone while they're down? _Something just didn't sit right with him.

As Tsuna looked up, his eyes now staying brown, Gokudera shook off his thoughts.

"It ends here." Gokudera cautiously pulled out a vial, about the size and shape of an Eclipse mint container. The liquid contained within it was a product of his hard work.

First, he went searching for pyritic schist. He ended up going to a coal deposit to search for some, and found what he was looking for. This pyritic schist was composed primarily of coal, silica, alumina, and iron sulfide, the latter in excess. His goal was to isolate the iron sulfide, transform it into iron sulfate, and would then extract sulfuric acid. He wanted to perform this task as discreetly as possible, so he decided to take extra precautionary measures. He definitely didn't want to end up having his background checked just because he waltzed into a shop and asked for sulfuric acid.

Sulfuric acid is one of the most widely used of all chemical products, and he had one goal to achieve with this. One product that will help him end it. Finding a quiet place in some secluded forest, he got to work. Using some of the resources in the forest, he was able to change the iron sulfide into iron sulfate and the alumina into aluminum sulfate. From these and other materials, he was able to make nitric acid. By means of a complicated process, he was able to extract glycerine from some soap. He then introduced the nitric acid to the glycerine, thus producing one of the deadliest explosives he's ever made.

Nitroglycerine.

* * *

Tsuna stared horrified at the vial in Gokudera's hands. He truly knew it to be nitroglycerine, and was either shocked, scared s***less, or both. Most likely both.

He quickly ran up the stairs and dashed into the next catwalk. Thank goodness Decimo stopped talking.

Gokudera, on the other hand, dashed for a cable he prepared that links to the very top of the 'room'. He cut the bottom of the cable as he grabbed it and held on. The mechanism acted like a pulley, a heavy weight on one end, and now, Gokudera on the other. He was quickly pulled up to the very top, and swung over to the nearest catwalk.

Right above where Tsuna was at.

Well, it wasn't actually right over Tsuna. There was a distance of about one foot before his outstretched hand holding the liquid would be directly over Tsuna's head. Unperturbed, Gokudera leaned forward a bit more.

Big mistake.

The railing suddenly gave out, sending Gokudera plummeting downwards. As if that wasn't enough, the vial of nitroglycerine slipped out of his grasp and was now hovering above him as he fell. Which meant that when he'd land, he'd get a face-full of nitroglycerine. That's not going to be pretty. Gokudera was preparing to die, contemplating about his life.

_Goodbye, cruel world. Surely, I shall see hell... _

Gokudera was yanked towards the catwalk, and he staggered backwards. A hand shot forward and caught the nitroglycerine before it could hit the floor. Gokudera looked on in disbelief.

Sawada Tsunayoshi. The guy he just tried to kill just saved his life.

"Why?" Gokudera asked, "I tried to kill you...Why would you save me?"

Tsuna looked at him solemnly, before he gave a comforting smile. "Because..."

"Because everyone deserves to life their life, regardless of deeds."

Inspiring. Gokudera couldn't remember the last time he felt like this. He felt so...warm.

Finally, someone actually accepted him. Someone actually valued him.

Tears welled up in Gokudera's eyes, and he tried his best to wipe them off completely from his face. Tsuna immediately became concerned.

"Why are you crying?"

Gokudera briefly looked up, eyes filled with tears. He dropped to his knees.

"No one...has ever been so nice to me...Finally...someone who values my existence..." Tsuna was briefly surprised, but then gave a comforting smile as he kneeled down to Gokudera's level and put a hand upon his shoulder.

"No need to cry anymore. I'll be your friend."

* * *

_Gokudera walked through the streets of Sicily, cigarette in his mouth...as per usual. Suddenly, a tall man in a black suit and fedora appeared before him. Gokudera scowled._

_"Who are you?!" he snarled._

_The man merely smirked. "You want to be accepted into a famiglia?" Gokudera's ears perked up at this, but still kept his guard up. "Yes?"_

_"Go to Namimori, Japan, and look for a boy named Sawada Tsunayoshi in Namimori Middle. All expenses for the trip will be paid by me." The fedora wearing man smirked._

_"Che, and what will I gain from looking for him?" Gokudera said._

_"If you kill him, you will be accepted by the Vongola famiglia." Gokudera immediately brightened. The Vongola famiglia was one of the strongest famiglias in the world, and he always wanted to join them. But he needed more of a benefit._

_"And, he's an experiment." The man added. An experiment? How could he refuse now?_

_"Alright, I'll take it."_

_The man nodded and started to walk away._

_"Hey," Gokudera suddenly said, "Who are you anyway?" The man stopped in his tracks, and turned his head to the side ever-so-slightly._

_"You don't know? I'm the greatest hitman in the world, Reborn." And with that, he disappeared. _

* * *

"...And that's what happened," Gokudera finished. Tsuna nodded.

_Reborn, that ass. What the hell was he thinking? If he was trying to get me to be the boss of Vongola, why the hell did he send someone to kill me? _

Tsuna shifted his weight from where he was sitting on the catwalk.

"So let me see if I got this right," Tsuna said, "You've been living all alone most of your life, and you're an expert in terms of explosives. You wanted to join some famiglias, but for some reason they didn't take you in. So when Reborn," (note the hint of irritation in his voice) "gave you that offer, you decided to go for it?" Gokudera nodded.

"But, then you saved my life," Gokudera said. He gave a soft smile. "I'm very grateful."

"So you're _not _going to try and assassinate me?" Gokudera shook his head.

"When Reborn mentioned that I was...an experiment, why did that make you accept?"

Gokudera looked to the side, deep in thought. Tsuna put both of his hands up.

"Ah, but you don't have to tell me if you don't want to," he said. Gokudera shook his head. "No, I want to tell you."

"It all started when-"

Tsuna's head connected with the metal catwalk, thanks to a giant green hammer.

"Dame-Tsuna," Reborn said, "how dare you call me an ass. For that, I'm going to train you harder." Gokudera was in shock. Where the hell did he come from?

As the hammer was lifted, Tsuna looked up at Reborn in annoyance. Why do the gods hate him? Honestly, what did he do?

"I sent Gokudera to kill you to test your abilities," Reborn said as he magically kept the hammer somewhere in his pocket. "I also want him to become part of your famiglia."

_What is he on about? _Tsuna thought as he sat up. _Wait... _

"I don't want to join the Mafia!" Tsuna said, half-shouted. Reborn simply smacked the back of his head...hard.

"I'll make sure you do." And so he disappeared like the bad-ass hitman he is. Tsuna rubbed the back of his head. Ow. Gokudera looked on in concern and bewilderment. "Are you okay?" Tsuna nodded.

"I've gone through worse."

He really has.

* * *

_Blood. Everywhere. Everywhere he went._

_Pain. Blinding pain. It wouldn't go away._

_Death. So much death. Was it inevitable? _

_The work done by his hands? _

* * *

Tsuna shook off his thoughts and noticed a note before him. He picked it up and read it.

_Dame-Tsuna_

_If you aren't home by 5:30 PM, I'm going to train you for five hours with a knife._

_Reborn _

Tsuna stared at the note dumbfounded before he checked the time.

5:28 PM.

"I need to get the hell out of here."

* * *

_FINALLY. Honestly. It took a while, but this chapter's just about wrapped up._

_And guess what? Our finals are done! All that's left is a national statistics exam, a clearance signing, and an awarding ceremony._

_The statistics exam may f*** me though, so please pray for me. If you want more epic and long chapters, _please _pray for me._

_Also, Please check out my crack fic, _**Drunk on Writer's Block, High on Crack**. _It will be an outlet if I ever get a random mental block or gain some random KHR fantasy. I don't know if you'll laugh, so I'll give you this footnote._

It's about as serious as happy magical jellyfish-unicorns living in the land of sunshine and other bulls**t.

_I hope you enjoyed!_


	8. Chapter 8 - Hiding Behind False Smiles

_Ciao, everyone!_

_Good news! I finished the national aptitude test! (I face palmed when I realized I said 'statistics' instead of 'aptitude')_

_Thanks to all those who prayed for me, and all those who followed, favorited, and reviewed!_

_Speaking of reviews, I'd like to say some things to a few of them._

**_To ezcap1st: _**_*re-checks chapter**blanchs* S***, I forgot to omit that._

**_To Narutopokefan: _**_Thank you very much! If you want me to make a one-shot for you, just ask! Here, a coupon!_

**_To xXGemini13Xx: _**_Thanks! And Yamamoto is the basis of this chapter! :)_

**_To Flickering Hope: _**_Haha, I just typed that out of a whim. I didn't think anyone would find it that funny! Here, I tied up a Tsuna!_

_Katekyo Hitman Reborn belongs to the one and only Amano Akira~_

_Enjoy~_

* * *

Chapter 8 - Hiding Behind False Smiles

_"Wow! You're so great!"_

_"Hey, can we hang out later?" _

**_Stop...please...it's so painful..._**

_"Are you doing anything later?"_

_"Can we drop by your place?"_

_"You're amazing!" _

**_Lies...all lies...nothing more, nothing less..._**

_"I want to be just like you!"_

_"Will you teach me?" _

**_Please...stop... _**

_"You're the best!"_

_"Very cool!" _

_**Shut up... **_

_"I want to be your friend!"_

**_SHUT UP!_**

_... _

* * *

Tsuna let out a long yawn as he walked down the stairs of his house. He dragged himself over to the table as he tried to tie his necktie.

_Ugh. Just, ugh. _Tsuna quickly undid it as he sat down, ignoring the hit man hometutor sitting across from him.

Big mistake.

_Over, under, oh, s***, I sound like I'm reciting that high-crack chant for tying shoelaces. _

WHAM! His face greets the eggs upon the plate before him.

Which, mind you, were still hot. Very hot.

_OH, C***! _Tsuna shouted in is mind as he lifted his face from the plate, sure that if he shouted out loud, his beloved mother would ask where he learned such an, 'obscene word'. Well, the truth is that today, we probably learn curse words when we're about nine years old, at best.

_S***! S***! S****************************! IT FEELS LIKE A MOTHER F***ING VOLCANO JUST S*** UPON MY FACE! IT F***ING BURNS! BURNS! _Tsuna was then greeted by a smack to the back of his head. Luckily, he moved the plate to the side just in time. Unfortunately, the table was pretty damn hard. Tsuna lifted his pitiful face, once again.

He knew that smack.

Tsuna turned around in his seat to see Reborn behind him, satisfied smirk upon his face.

"What did I do wrong?" Tsuna whined, "I woke up early and came home in time, dammit."

"Yes," Reborn said, "But you didn't greet me when you came to the table. That's very rude, Dame-Tsuna." Reborn tutted. "Not to mention that you overreacted over such a little thing as hot eggs in your face. It looks like I'm going to have to beat some manners into you, as well as a higher pain tolerance."

Tsuna shivered. His life was just s***, wasn't it? (All thanks to me~)

Nana came into the room carrying a few plates of...bacon, I guess.

But, hey, it's Sawada Nana's cooking. She could make c*** look and taste like heaven incarnate. Never know.

She immediately noticed the smudge of eggs on Tsuna's face, not to mention the redness (due to the heat of the eggs and Reborn's head smack) and asked, "Eh? Tsu-kun, why is your face covered in eggs?" Before Tsuna could say anything, his mouth was covered by a certain tutor's hand.

"He was excited to eat your cooking," Reborn cut in. Apparently, Nana seemed to be contented with that answer, and went back out after putting the plate down, a pleased smile on her face. Tsuna mentally face palmed (no way is he touching the eggs sticking to it). Honestly, his mother was so oblivious.

After he washed the eggs off his face (thank you so very much, Reborn), Tsuna headed off to school. As he walked on the way there, he spotted a mop of silver hair. He immediately recognized it.

"Ah, Gokudera-kun!" Tsuna called out as he picked up his pace towards the person who just tried to kill him the previous day, a smile on his face.

Yeah, Tsuna's bad-ass like that.

The said man turned around, and his face brightened as well. "Ah, Juudaime! Good morning!" Tsuna stopped short about a foot in front of Gokudera.

Tsuna tilted his head to the side. "'Juudaime'?" Gokudera eagerly nodded. They continued walking as they talked.

"Reborn said that you were going to be the Tenth boss of Vongola, and since I've got such high respect for you now, I wouldn't want to show disrespect. So I've decided to call you 'Juudaime', Juudaime!"

Tsuna sweat dropped. "Y-You can just call me Tsuna, it's fine."

"But-"

"It's fine, it's fine. Really." Tsuna offered a warm smile. Gokudera had little tears in the corners of his eyes.

"Y-Y-You're so kind...!" Tsuna couldn't help but wonder what could have made Gokudera feel so neglected.

"Ah, Gokudera-san-"

"You can just call me Hayato!" Gokudera interjected.

"Hm, how about just Gokudera-kun?" Tsuna said after a moment's thought.

"If you want to!" Gokudera eagerly replied.

They both arrived at the school's entrance. As they entered, Tsuna could practically feel all the Gokudera fan girls glaring at him. After all, they were talking like they were best friends or something when the previous day, Gokudera seemed like he couldn't give a rat's ass. Tsuna, on the other hand, was, well, Tsuna.

Only a little better.

They got in the classroom just as the bell rang, and they went to their seats.

* * *

Tsuna gazed at the paper in his hands as he walked.

_70% _was written boldly on the test paper. Tsuna smiled at the results. Not bad. He sighed as he lowered the paper from his face. He thought about how Gokudera had run off earlier. Sometime during break, Gokudera realized that he had forgotten all about the nitroglycerine and ran off to nullify it and dispose of it. After all, it's not like Gokudera will try to kill Tsuna anymore.

Right?

A gust of wind suddenly picked up, ripping the paper from Tsuna's hands. As it started to fly away, Tsuna cursed himself before going after it.

_Curse these short legs. _Says the guy who was able to outrun a dynamite-throwing psychopath (no offence, Gokudera) and sneak up behind him without the latter noticing until the last minute.

Seems legit.

The wind seemed to tease Tsuna as the paper would sometimes rest upon the ground, and as Tsuna would get so close to it, the wind would pick up once again, and the piece of paper would fly away from his grasp.

_S***ty wind, _he mentally cursed as the piece of paper eluded his grasp once again.

Yeah. Blame the wind, Tsuna. It's not like it's just some natural occurrence happening due to shifts in temperatures and the rotation of the Earth. Of _course _it has a consciousness and wishes to toy with you. Just go ahead and blame the f***ing wind.

Fate is just snickering somewhere right now.

After a few minutes of running and cursing, Tsuna had finally been able to catch the pesky test paper. He let out a mental hurrah as he wiped off the dust from the paper using the back of his hand.

_F*** yeah! In your FACE, WIND! _Honestly, Tsuna's thoughts can be so childish sometimes.

He was suddenly snapped out of his mental celebration when his intuition flared. Tsuna immediately turned around and put his hand out. Just in time, too, for at that moment, a projectile going at high speeds was caught in his hand. It continued to spin in the palm of his hand, before it slowly stopped. It hurt real bad, and Tsuna could swear he saw smoke coming off due to the intense force and friction. He winced as he transferred the item into his other hand and examined the damage done to the hand he used to catch it.

_Youch. _It was bright red and bruised, the blood vessels threatening to burst. Tsuna shifted his gaze to the item in his other hand.

A baseball. A f***ing baseball.

Thoughts immediately filled Tsuna's head as he stared at the ball as though it were some ticking time bomb. He looked at his surroundings and realized he was at the baseball court.

_Did a pitching machine malfunction or something? Do we even have one? What if it was another attempt to kill me? _Dread filled Tsuna. Reborn had assured him that the Vongola made sure that any attempts to get him would be thwarted, but he wasn't so sure anymore.

"Oh, hey! You caught the ball!"

Tsuna looked up to see the source of the voice, broken out of his thoughts.

Yamamoto Takeshi.

Tsuna was familiar with him, seeing as they were in the same class, but they never interacted with each other. He was the star of the baseball team and well-loved by everyone, especially the girls. His short, raven hair tousled slightly in the wind, and, just like his skin, was glistening slightly with sweat. Warm brown eyes seemed to radiate happiness, and a smile was ever-present on his face.

But Tsuna knew better. _His smile is false. _

Yamamoto stopped short in front of Tsuna. A look of recognition spread across his face. He offered a grin, but Tsuna couldn't help but feel that something was...off.

"Hey, you're Tsuna right? From my class?" the baseball player asked as he tilted his head downwards slightly. Tsuna internally scowled at the action. _I'm not short, dammit. I just...haven't hit puberty yet. _

Tsuna stiffly nodded, despite his thoughts. "Ahaha! I thought I recognized you! It's amazing that you caught the ball I threw!"

Tsuna visibly stiffened, but the taller male must be quite dense, for he took no notice of it.

_Wait...the ball...he threw... _

"When I saw it fly far and fast, I didn't think anyone could catch it! But you did!"

_...the ball...it **burned **__my hand...he threw it...he threw it... _

Tsuna came to a conclusion. He was never, _ever, _stepping into a baseball field with this guy.

"Want to play with us?" Tsuna was snapped out of his thoughts, to hear the words that he was just starting to dread to hear. "We won't mind," Yamamoto continued, referring to his teammates.

Tsuna's thoughts? _Oh, f*** no. _But, of course, he didn't say that. That's rude. Instead, he said this.

"Ah, no thanks, Yamamoto-san."

"You sure?" Tsuna waved his hands in front of himself as he shook his head. While doing the action, he remembered that he was still holding that bullet of a ball. He ceased his action and held the ball out to Yamamoto.

"Do you want this back?" he asked.

"Haha, yeah, thanks," Yamamoto said as he got the baseball back from Tsuna. Once again, he offered a grin, and Tsuna unconsciously frowned. _Is something wrong with him? _Tsuna, being the good-natured guy he was (the moments with the bullies and teacher were mere exceptions), decided to ask him.

"Um, Yamamoto-sa-" Alas, he was cut off by a shout coming from a boy dressed in baseball attire similar to Yamamoto's.

"Ah, Yamamoto! What're you doing? They're going to continue without you!"

Tsuna internally scowled. _I was asking a question, jack-ass. _Yamamoto, who looked to the caller, turned backed to Tsuna, who tried his best to hide his distaste.

"Ahaha, I have to go back now. Did you want to ask something, Tsuna?" Tsuna shook his head.

"Maybe some other time, Yamamoto-san." Yamamoto then proceeded to run off towards the baseball field, waving his hand at Tsuna.

"Bye!"

_Stop trying to act like you're okay. What's the matter Yamamoto-san? _

Decimo, in the depths of Tsuna's mind, was observing the scene through Tsuna's eyes.

**He is hurt. One more push, and he'll give up on life. **

Even Tsuna couldn't hear Decimo's thoughts of the situation.

* * *

_"I knew you could do it! I knew you could!"_

_"It's epic!"_

_"Marvelous!"_

_"Terrific!" _

_He laughed bitterly._

**_They only look at my surface. How hard is it for them to understand? _**

_"You're doing splendidly!"_

_"Keep up the good work!"_

_"I never doubted you!"_

**_How hard is it to try to understand? Why...? _**

_"Woah!"_

_"Can you tell me your secret?"_

_"I mean, how do you do it?" _

_**Why can't they see my pain? Under this mask, this effective facade... **_

_"I look up to you."_

**_...Why can't they try to actually know me?_ **

* * *

"Juudaime!" The silver-haired teen ran to catch up to Tsuna. Despite Tsuna's insistence that Gokudera call him by his given name, Gokudera continued to call him 'Juudaime'. Tsuna sighed inwardly, knowing that he won't be able to break that habit of his. Tsuna stopped walking and waved at Gokudera.

"Ah, Gokudera-kun!"

"Good morning, Juudaime!" Gokudera said as he stopped in front of Tsuna.

"Good morning!" They continued to walk together.

"So, Gokudera-kun," Tsuna began, "Were you able to get rid of the nitroglycerine?"

Gokudera moved his head slightly away from Tsuna's gaze, earning a raised eyebrow from the said brunette. "Yeah," he said. Tsuna pouted.

"Gokudera-kun?"

"Yes, Juudaime?" Gokudera refused to look back at Tsuna.

"Why are you lying?" Gokudera visibly stiffened.

"I-I'm not lying, Juudaime."

"You're showing the signs of a person lying."

Beads of sweat started to form on Gokudera's forehead.

"You're sweating, you refuse make eye contact, you're walking stiffly, there's a stutter in your voice, not to mention a tinge of hesitation. You're making subtle movements with your hands, suggesting that you're tempted to scratch some part of your face. You used my words when I asked why you were lying. You also shifted your bag towards me, suggesting you want to put it in between us to avoid confrontation." Tsuna stopped for a few seconds to watch Gokudera's eyes widen, and to add a dramatic effect. "Need I say more?"

Gokudera sighed. "No, Juudaime. You deserve to know the truth."

"What did you do with it?" Gokudera didn't answer immediately, and bit his lower lip before responding.

"I..." Tsuna moved a little closer to Gokudera.

"I'm using it...for a new type of dynamite I'm working on." Gokudera fiddled with his thumbs. "I wanted to make something that would allow me to protect Juudaime better. I owe you my life...and I want to make it up to you."

Tsuna sighed, but couldn't help but smile at Gokudera's last statement. Gokudera looked back at Tsuna, anxious about his reply. Tsuna looked at Gokudera and gave a warm smile.

"You being my friend is payment enough, Hayato," Tsuna said, choosing his words carefully. He realized that he had succeeded when Gokudera smiled as well. A grateful smile.

"Juudaime..."

They arrived at the school gates, and as they entered, whispers broke out among the students. At first, Tsuna thought that they were gossiping about how he was friends with Gokudera. He then realized that they were already whispering beforehand. Tsuna stopped in the hallway and closed his eyes, trying to hear what they were saying. Gokudera stopped beside him.

"Juudaime...?" Tsuna raised a finger to his own lips. Gokudera immediately shut up.

_"Did you hear? He broke his arm during practice!"_

_"Poor thing...I hope he recovers soon..."_

_"I don't think he will..."_

_"Why?"_

_"I heard he's going to perform suicide by jumping off the roof of the building!"_

_"What? I don't think he should do that!"_

_"He has his life in front of him!"_

_"Apparently, baseball is his life. Now that he broke his arm, he's afraid that he won't be able to play anymore, and so his life is worthless. That's what I heard."_

_"No! He shouldn't die!"_

_"I don't know if any of us can convince him..."_

_"Who knew Yamamoto Takeshi would be quick to kill himself?" _

Tsuna snapped his eyes open. That was all he needed to hear. He dashed forward, Gokudera hot on his tail.

He had to get to the rooftop.

**He's cracked.**

* * *

Tsuna slammed the door to the rooftop open, and was shocked by the sight before him.

There was a crowd of people who had already gathered, most of them the fans of the well-loved baseball player. The man himself was standing on the edge of the building, outside the protective wire railing, perched precariously at the little of the floor beyond it. A cast was wrapped around his arm. Shouts could be heard from the crowd, urging him not to do it.

"Yamamoto-san, please don't!"

"You have your entire career before you! You can't, you just can't" Collective sobs were heard, and Tsuna struggled to get beyond the screaming crowd. It was a miracle that the disciplinary committee hadn't come to punish them. In fact, Tsuna could swear he saw some of their members in the crowd as well.

"Che!" Gokudera, too, was having trouble getting through. Tsuna gritted his teeth.

_I cannot allow a life to be lost._

_Not when I finally know what his problem is! _

* * *

_"No! Don't jump!"_

_"Please don't!"_

_"We don't want you to die!"_

_"Please rethink your choice!"_

**_Oh, I have thought of my choice._**

**_No one sees the real me._**

**_No one tries to know me._**

**_No one is there for me._**

**_Now that I can't play baseball, I have no excuse as to why I cannot die._**

_He laughed bitterly in the confines of his mind._

_"Please live! For us?"_

**_How blind are they? Can they not see my pain?_**

**_I've been hiding it for too long, my feelings. At first, I thought that if I smiled, all my friends wouldn't worry, and they'd be happy._**

**_I was wrong. I have no friends._**

**_The false smile that so haunts my face...no one has been able to see beyond it._**

**_I must be talented as an actor, or they are otherwise ignorant._**

_"Don't rush to do things like this!"_

_"Stop!"_

**_I despise them._**

**_No matter, I will be rid of all my problems soon._**

**_I wonder how long it will take for me to die... _**

"Yamamoto-san!"

Yamamoto broke off from his thoughts of suicide suddenly, when he heard the voice. He turned to look, and sure enough, Sawada Tsunayoshi was standing there in all his glory, a look of determination plastered on his face.

* * *

Tsuna glanced behind him slightly. Gokudera hadn't been so lucky as to find a way out of that horrendous crowd yet. He looked back at Yamamoto, showing his true side.

Yamamoto stared at Tsuna.

"Are you here to stop me as well?"

Tsuna nodded, and Yamamoto laughed bitterly. Tsuna still couldn't help but pity the poor male.

"Well, you can't stop me." Yamamoto looked down at the grounds below him, where he'd be plummeting towards, before looking at the vast expanse of the sky before him.

"Surely, you can relate to me?" he said, after a moment's silence.

"What do you mean?" Tsuna slowly inched towards Yamamoto.

"Being Dame-Tsuna...you must know what it's like to be alone. To not be understood." Cue dramatic pause.

"You must know how I feel." Yamamoto turned back to Tsuna who was...closer?

Tsuna shook his head. "No, I don't think I could ever understand how you feel, Yamamoto-san." He looked back at Yamamoto, seriousness lacing his features, making him appear more mature. Of course, the crowd behind him couldn't see it.

"You have people who appreciate you, who value your existence. I never had anyone like that. But I can sympathize with your statement about not being understood." Yamamoto could swear that the brunette's eyes were glowing a brownish-amber hue, but shook off the thought in favor of listening to Tsuna.

"But you cannot jump just because no one wants to know the real you."

Yamamoto's eyes widened significantly at Tsuna's statement. _He knew...? But I barely know him... _

"That's why I'm using this opportunity to ask you that question I was about to ask yesterday." Tsuna moved close, close enough to assert himself, far enough to allow Yamamoto to look at him without tilting his head too much.

Why, puberty? Why hast thou forsaken Tsuna?

"Yamamoto-san," Tsuna began, his voice unwavering, "Is everything alright?"

Yamamoto stared at Tsuna.

And stared.

And stared.

Someone actually asked him.

Someone actually wanted to know who he was as a person.

A smile crept upon his face. A genuine smile.

"I am now."

Suddenly, the railing he was grasping gave out, and Yamamoto started to fall. Tsuna's eyes widened, and his vision quickly blacked out.

_**That boy doesn't deserve to die. I'll take over for a while, Tsuna.**_

_**I'll save him. **_

* * *

Time seemed to slow down as Yamamoto descended towards the ground. Tears welled around his eyes, threatening to spill over.

_Just when I found a true friend. _

Suddenly, there was a blur of movement, and Yamamoto felt hands move under his neck and the backs of his knees. He finally met the ground, but not in the way he thought he would.

It wasn't in a splat, and he definitely wasn't dead.

He looked up to realize that he had been caught while he was falling, the his savior had taken the full force of the fall, seeing as he was in a crouching position, holding Yamamoto bridal style. Despite this, he showed no signs of pain.

Sawada Tsunayoshi had saved his life. Yamamoto's gaze moved to Tsuna's eyes, which were blazing amber. His eyes widened, wondering how eye color could change.

**"You're lucky that you had someone like Tsuna around," **the boy who had caught him said quietly. His voice held such authority, and was several octaves lower then Tsuna's normal voice. Yamamoto could only stare dumbly. What happened to Tsuna? Why was he speaking in the third person? 'Tsuna's' eyes started to droop.

**"Don't do that again," **he murmured as he slowly fell forward, **"Tsuna will get upset." **Yamamoto fell from 'Tsuna's' grasp and rolled on the ground as 'Tsuna', which quite obviously is Decimo using Tsuna's body, slumped down onto the ground.

**"I'm tired...Tsuna...You may take over now..." **His eyes slowly closed, amber eyes fading back into caramel, and he fell into unconsciousness.

Yamamoto quickly ran over to him to check if he was okay. The first thing he did was check his pulse.

_Good. It's normal. _By now, the group on the rooftop was staring down at the ground, unsure of what just happened. A similar crowd gathered around Yamamoto and Tsuna. Once he realized that there was a crowd gathering around them, Yamamoto turned to the person nearest to him.

"Can you please help me bring Tsuna to the nurse's office?"

The group, after recovering from shock, moved near Yamamoto, and they brought Tsuna to be taken care of.

* * *

_The surgeon poked at Tsuna's heart as thought it were road kill. He yawned as he examined the opened chest of the young boy._

_Presently, another surgeon entered the room, bringing with him a plate of cake, complete with a silver fork._

_"How's the boy doing?" the surgeon who had just entered asked._

_"Just fine," he said, as though he hadn't taken notice of the fact that Tsuna's heart and lungs were plainly exposed. Either that, or he simply didn't care, or it was normal to him. He gazed at the diaphragm, finding the act of its contraction and relaxation very soothing. The surgeon who had the plate of cake handed it over to the other surgeon._

_"What did you need the cake for, anyway?"  
_

_"I got hungry."_

_As they continued on with their discussion about the ethics of cake, and how one should _not _eat cake over an 'open' body (crumbs may fall in), little Tsuna stared at the fork in the surgeon's hand._

I'm getting out of here, for sure.

* * *

Tsuna awoke to find himself in the familiar setting of the nurse's office. He held the palm of his hand to his forehead, and tried to recall what happened.

Talk about deja vu.

Needless to say, it all came to him in a millisecond. He sat up, his mind full of concern for Yamamoto.

_Oh, no, I hope he didn't die... _He suddenly heard bickering, and looked at the door, just in time to see Gokudera enter with Yamamoto. Gokudera was snarling dangerously at the male, while Yamamoto merely laughed it off. (I suppose it would relate to height, considering that Yamamoto was taller than Gokudera as well.)

Gokudera immediately turned his attention to Tsuna, and his face brightened.

"Juudaime! Are you all right? Are you okay? Does it hurt bad anywhere?" Gokudera ran to Tsuna's side and immediately bombarded him with questions. Tsuna sighed.

"I'm fine, Gokudera-kun. Thanks for your concern." Tsuna then turned to Yamamoto, happy that he was fine; excluding the arm in the cast.

"Are you alright, Yamamoto-san?" Tsuna asked. Yamamoto smiled, genuinely, to Tsuna's relief.

"I am. Thank you, Tsuna."

Tsuna tilted his head to the side. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you saved me," Yamamoto said, his smile turning into a grin, "and you made me realize that I am appreciated, and a lot of people would be hurt if I died. You also became my friend." His grin was full-out blinding.

Gokudera turned to Yamamoto, then looked back at Tsuna.

"Juudaime, you know this baseball-freak?" Tsuna stole a glance at Yamamoto, but he didn't seem affected by Gokudera's statement at all.

"Ah, yeah." Tsuna directed a smile towards Yamamoto.

"We're good friends."

* * *

_How was it? I hope you enjoyed!_

_Arigatou gozaimasu, xie xie, grazie, dank u, merci, danke, terimah kasih, salamat po, and thank you to all who even bothered reading!_

_Please review!_

_And, here's a footnote:_

_"I'll bite you to death."_

_"What the f***? Are you vampire?"_

_"It's a good thing I brought garlic!"_

_"You bring garlic with you all the time?"_

_"Yeah!"_

_Thank you~_


	9. Chapter 9 - The Demon Prefect

_Ciao._

_Ugh. I DEEPLY apologize for the chickens*** you're about to read. I usually make this s*** up as I go along, and I was unsure about how to introduce Kyoya. It makes me feel even worse that I'm giving you this s*** when all you guys have been giving me so much love! A big thanks to all those who favorited, reviewed and followed! I'm REALLY sorry that I'm posting this s***._

_*goes to cry in an emo corner*_

_*Alaude appears**sighs*_

_Katekyo Hitman Reborn belongs to the one and only Amano Akira._

_*Illusion wails in background**Alaude goes to comfort Author-sama*_

* * *

Chapter 9 - The Demon Prefect

The day was truly beautiful. The sun was shining a magnificent yellowish-orange glow, morning dew was glistening upon the different types of plants, birds of all different species were chirping-

WHAM!

"What the hell Reborn!? It's still 5 in the morning!"

"Make me an espresso."

"Make it yourself, you demon of a tutor!"

Ah, yes. And Reborn was screwing Tsuna's life, not that it was already screwed-up enough.

The sadistic bastard.

Reborn lifted his gun to Tsuna's forehead, and Tsuna shivered. Not because it was cold, but because it was _warm. _Tsuna was pretty damn sure that you should fear a guy with a _warm_ gun more than one with a cold one. The former used his gun more than the latter, which was quite obvious.

"Say that again, Dame-Tsuna?"

"I'll get right on it."

"I thought so."

Tsuna was trying his best not to mumble curses under his breath (he doesn't want to gain a new bruise on his head after just waking up, thank you very much) as he forced himself up off the oh-so familiar floor of his room. Reborn smirked as Tsuna trudged downstairs and got working on it.

Reborn leaned on the counter and observed Tsuna work on making his favorite drink. Tsuna, who absolutely _hates _it when people look over his shoulder, started to get annoyed. He turned to Reborn, giving a 'what the f*** do you want?' glare. Reborn, of course, wasn't affected by this at all and instead chose to give one of his trademark smirks.

"I'm making sure you don't pour any of that puffer fish venom into my espresso."

Tsuna tried his best not to gape. He stood still in obvious shock as Reborn slowly reached into Tsuna's right sleeve (the latter was still wearing his pajamas) and peeled off a small sachet that contained a reddish liquid.

"Tsk, tsk," Reborn said, holding up the sachet whilst shaking his head, "I can't believe you'd try to kill me."

"I was just going to simulate your death," Tsuna mumbled.

"You still tried to put a drug into my precious drink."

_'My precious drink'? The f***?_ Tsuna immediately paled upon realizing what he had thought and tried to do.

Reborn merely had an evil grin on his face. No, not a smirk, a f***ing, 'I'm-going-to-make-you-wish-you-were-in-hell' grin.

_No one_ insults his espresso.

* * *

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Tsuna?""Juudaime?" Yamamoto and Gokudera asked simultaneously. Surprisingly, Gokudera didn't snap at Yamamoto for disrespecting his precious Juudaime as such. He was far too shocked by what was before him.

"Yes?" Tsuna said, head tilted to the side, as thought he was completely unaware of the situation. If it weren't for the obviously forced smile, his friends would think he had gone mad.

"Why are you covered in scratches and bandages, and why do you smell like coffee?" Yamamoto said, voicing both his and Gokudera's thoughts.

Tsuna stood in front of his house, in front of his concerned friends. His face was scratched all over, bandages laid upon his cheeks, and covering the majority of his arms. The stench of coffee practically emanated off of him; you could almost _see _it.

_Wait. How do they know where I live?! _

Tsuna sighed in defeat, seeing as his friends would simply keep prodding for the truth, one in concern, the other in curiosity. He started walking to school, signalling his friends to follow after him.

"This morning, I tried to drug my home tutor's espresso," Tsuna mumbled, loud enough for both of his friends to hear. Their eyes widened in shock, seeing as the boy who had saved their lives, their _friend, _tried to drug his home tutor's espresso.

"I was just going to simulate his death using the puffer fish's poison, but _apparently _he didn't think that was nice," Tsuna continued, oblivious to his friends' reactions. "I also mentally insulted his favorite drink, but the bastard can read minds and got pissed off. And so he locked me in a cage with a pack of wolves." Tsuna sighed dramatically, unintentionally. "I fought them off for an hour. I then realized that the only way to get them to back off was to overwhelm their senses. I don't like hurting animals." Tsuna grimaced at the thought of animal abuse.

It was akin to his experiences. Tsuna shook the thought off.

"I found a giant pot of espresso in the corner, and so I poured it on myself. The smell was so overwhelming, the wolves left me alone. He wanted to teach me that espresso was awesome, I guess," Tsuna finished.

Silence.

"Is...something wrong with that?" Tsuna asked.

Honestly, Tsuna. Of _course_ there's nothing wrong with that. I mean, you just said that you tried to drug your home tutor using poison from a _f***ing puffer fish_, and he locked you in a cage full of wild animals, which left you to save yourself by bathing in espresso.

Not a _damn _thing is wrong with that.

"No-Nothing, Juudaime!" Gokudera said, hands in front of him.

"Haha, yeah," Yamamoto added with a strangled laugh.

Conversation then moved to general topics and one-sided arguments between Gokudera and Yamamoto (the former insulting, the latter laughing it off) as they headed to school. Sometime while they were talking, Tsuna started to peel off his bandages.

"Ah, Juudaime! You shouldn't! Those wounds are fresh!" Gokudera said with a worried face in an attempt to stop Tsuna. Tsuna gave a comforting smile.

"It's okay, Gokudera-kun. Look." Tsuna held out his now bare arms, and sure enough, not a scratch was to be seen. They looked at his face, and the scratches they had seen a little while ago had completely disappeared. Tsuna peeled off the remainder of the bandages on his face and disposed of them in a trash can.

"Eh? The wounds healed so fast..." Yamamoto said, shocked himself.

"My body has seen far worse." Tsuna simply stated with a smile.

_Far, far worse._

* * *

They walked through the quiet halls towards their class. Tsuna tried his best not to look suspicious when the students suddenly smelled the odor of the espresso. Some things just don't heal.

Gokudera and Yamamoto were able to tolerate the smell, but Tsuna could swear that a few of the students were fainting because of it. He was on edge the entire time.

Gokudera noticed this. "Juudaime? Is something wrong? I mean, I know people are noticing the smell, but who gives a fu-"

"It's not that, Gokudera-kun," Tsuna interrupted. "I'm just afraid that we'll attract the attention of the Disciplinary Committee."

"Haha, but if we explain to them, they'll understand, won't they?" Yamamoto tried to add helpfully. Unfortunately, it wasn't helpful at all because (1) the reason is utterly ridiculous, not to mention completely avoidable and (2) nobody would believe it.

Gokudera and Tsuna silently affirmed that both their thoughts were the same about the hitches in Yamamoto's plan.

"It's not like I can't handle the members themselves, actually," Tsuna said thoughtfully, "It's their president."

"Their president?" Gokudera, of course, being new to the school, had no idea who the prefect was.

Tsuna simply nodded as a figure moved in front of them, and the hallway immediately emptied. The man that had blocked their path looked to be an upperclassman. He had unkempt black hair paired with steely, bluish-gray eyes. His mouth was settled into something of a scowl as he glared mercilessly at Tsuna and company. A black jacket hung loosely from his shoulders, one of the sleeves bearing a pinned band which boldly read in golden font, the kanji of 'Discipline'.

"Speak of the devil," Tsuna muttered to his friends.

"Who's that?" Gokudera asked while trying to return the harsh glare. The raven-haired teen wasn't affected at all, the full force of his glare upon Tsuna, who decided that a proper introduction was in order.

"The feared prefect of Namimori. Gokudera-kun, meet Hibari Kyoya."

* * *

The day started like it usually did. Hibari Kyoya came to the school at an insane hour to make sure that everything was in order. He was in his office, which used to be the school's reception room until Hibari made it otherwise, when he heard from his subordinates that a number of students started fainting. It was only when he was patrolling the grounds that he caught wind of _it. _The stench was unbearably strong, and if he weren't Hibari f***ing Kyoya, he would have probably thrown up somewhere.

He was close to, though he didn't show it.

He continued searching the school until he came upon the source by means of looking for where the smell was strongest. He stood before three students, all younger than him. He was somewhat familiar with Yamamoto Takeshi, considering the student's general fame in the school. He stole a glance at the other male. Hibari didn't know this one, but he already hated him. He seemed like a real delinquent, and he also seemed to be a foreigner. Neither of them bore the smell, he realized. He then shifted his gaze to a person he was all too familiar with.

Sawada Tsunayoshi.

Always coming in late and violating other such rules, Sawada was often punished and is a frequent offender. But above all else, he was weak. Hibari detests the weak, as much as, or possibly even more so than crowds.

And Sawada was the weakest of the lot.

"Herbivore," Hibari started, using his lingo that s***-knows-where originated from. "Why do you smell like espresso?"

Tsuna slightly flinched due to the fact that Hibari figured out _exactly _what he smelled like. To him, the smell seemed rather vague. Hibari, on the other hand, thought that the herbivore was just being weak as usual.

"Uhmm...E-eto..." Tsuna wasn't acting this time. He had no f***ing idea what to say, because is he told the truth, then he'd be punished due to how ridiculous it was.

But, then again, he was probably about to be punished for disrupting the peace of Namimori Middle.

So, he's f***ed either way.

This thought in mind, Tsuna told the truth. Hibari, believing he was being mocked (who wouldn't after hearing a half-assed story like that?), pulled out a pair of his weapon of choice, a pair of steel tonfas, seemingly out of thin air.

Tsuna has wondered how Hibari summons them out of nowhere, but has decidedly resigned to the thought that Hibari was a f***ing magician.

Hibari brandished his tonfas, killer intent gleaming in his eyes.

"I'll bite you to death."

They all moved out of the way as Hibari advanced and started to attack them mercilessly. Gokudera took out his dynamite as he tossed a lighter in the air. It spun mid-air, the flame emanating from it. He quickly lit his dynamite using the lighter while it was still mid-air, threw them at Hibari, and caught the lighter in-between his two fingers before it could hit the floor.

To say that it looked amazing would be an understatement. It was f***ing epic.

Hibari, however, merely swung his tonfas upon the fuses swiftly, effectively putting them out. They dropped to the floor, useless, harmless.

Gokudera then continued to throw dynamite at Hibari, who would put them out while he was fighting Tsuna, who was dodging desperately, along with Yamamoto, who was trying to get everyone to calm down. (S***, that's a lot of clauses)

All the while, their thoughts were either observant, or completely absurd.

_'I'll bite you to death'? Is he some sort of f***ing vampire? It's a good thing I still have that garlic clove in my pocket..._

_Hn... The herbivore is actually dodging. Maybe he isn't that weak after all..._

_S***I'm f***ing hungry...Damn you, Reborn, for stealing my breakfast..._

_Ahaha...Tsuna looks pretty cool dodging Hibari-san's attacks like that...But I didn't know that Gokudera brought a bunch of dynamite with him! Ahaha, how fun! I wonder where he keeps it all... _

And by that, I mean Hibari's thoughts about Tsuna were observant, Gokudera and Tsuna's thoughts were completely uncalled for, and Yamamoto's thoughts were...Yamamoto. Meaning observant, yet dense, and somehow f***ed-up.

Suddenly, the bell rang, and everyone immediately ceased their actions. Hibari glared at Tsuna for a while before keeping his tonfas.

"Detention. After school. Don't be late, herbivores." Hibari turned and walked away, leaving a relieved Tsuna, a laughing as-per-usual Yamamoto, a steaming-mad Gokudera, and a s***-load of dynamite on the floor.

"That _bastardo! Figlio di puttana!" _Gokudera continued to swear angrily in Italian, pissed off at Hibari. He stopped only when Tsuna out a hand on his shoulder.

"We'll be late, Gokudera-kun. Let's get going."

"H-Hai, Juudaime!"

They swiftly walk to their classroom, and were scolded upon reaching it.

Elsewhere, Hibari was walking calmly, thinking back at the previous encounter. The usually dame Tsuna seemed...different.

For the meantime, he was definitely keeping tabs on Sawada Tsunayoshi.

* * *

Tsuna sighed as he stood in front of Hibari's office.

_F***. I'm in deep s***. He'll f***ing bite me to death, raise me from the dead like the f***ing magician he is, and then bite me to death some more. S***. F***. S***. _

He's never mature in his mind, is he?

After a while of mustering up his courage, he carefully knocked on the door. He heard footstep quietly make their way to the said door, and Tsuna could swear he heard funeral music along with it. Yes, he _could _fight against Hibari and live to tell the tale, but once Hibari finds someone strong enough to fight, he'd practically stalk them until they eventually oblige to clash with him. Gaining Hibari's interest would give Tsuna some unwanted attention, and he definitely doesn't want that. He _could _try to kill Hibari so he wouldn't try to challenge him, but if the demon prefect suddenly disappeared, it would cause some chaos. Not to mention that Tsuna would probably be unoriginal in hiding a body and dump it behind some restaurant. If people saw that _the _Hibari Kyoya was killed, they'd _definitely _go into a panic.

Tsuna was broken out of his train of thought when the door suddenly opened to reveal none other than the feared prefect himself. Tsuna was silently wishing that he didn't assure his friends that he'd be _completely _fine going to detention by himself.

_F*** me. I regret my decision. _

"Hn, herbivore." Hibari went back inside, signalling Tsuna to follow him. Tsuna reluctantly followed. The reception room wasn't actually quite bad, and since Hibari tends to be a neat-freak, it was really tidy, too. As Tsuna went further inside, Hibari closed the door behind them.

And locked it.

_This is _not _going to end well. _

"Herbivore." Hibari leaned against the now closed door. "Explain."

Tsuna tried to maintain his composure as he turned to face Hibari. "Explain what, Hibari-san?" he asked, his face devoid of any emotion.

Then he realized that he wasn't supposed to have _any _composure at all in his current situation. _S***. _

Hibari quirked up an eyebrow. _The herbivore isn't scared? _

"You know what I mean, herbivore." He narrowed his already intense eyes, making him seem even more dangerous. "The hallways. You were able to dodge."

_What? Wait, now that I think about it, I didn't take them like I usually do and break like a third of the bones in my body in the process... _

Tsuna swallowed hard. He didn't know how he should go about this.

Hibari tapped his foot impatiently. Tsuna's eyes darted back and forth in the room, trying to find a liable explanation. He definitely wasn't going to say, 'Oh, I could always do that, Hibari-san. I just don't usually do it because a bunch of psychos are trying to get second wind of me to cut open my body and poke at my guts again. If I did, and gained attention, they'd go after me like the rabid bastards they are. Did you know that they ate cake while they operated on me?' He was pretty sure Hibari would bite him to death for saying something that absurd.

His gaze finally settled on the window, and the blue sky could be clearly seen from beyond the glass panel. He continued to stare at the mesmerizing sky in the hopes of getting some idea. In a stroke of sudden genius, he slowly backed away from Hibari.

And then jumped out the window.

Truly a _brilliant _stroke of genius.

_F*** yeah! _Tsuna mentally screamed as he hit the ground. He rolled upon landing so as to distribute the energy of the impact before he dashed out the gates.

Well, _tried _to.

Before he could take even five steps, a tonfa suddenly flashed in front of him, and he jumped back in shock.

_It's official. Hibari's a magician. I have no doubts now. _

"Herbivore," Hibari growled, a little pissed off at Tsuna's attempt at escape. Seriously, jumping out the window? How retarded is that? "Give me a straight answer before I bite you to death."

Tsuna, on reflex, got into a defensive stance. The adrenaline was making his body go into a 'fight' mode, much to Tsuna's chagrin. Normally, he would be able to control it, but he woke up too damn early to think straight.

_F*** you once again, Reborn. _

Suddenly, his face met the _comforting _pavement.

"Dame-Tsuna, what did I tell you about insulting me?"

"Ugh. Do you _always _have to do that, Reborn?!" Tsuna said exasperated as he picked himself up.

_Wait. Reborn? _

Tsuna turned to the tall figure who had mercilessly kicked his head down to the floor upon his mental insulting (as per usual).

Tsuna narrowed his eyes at Reborn. "Why the hell are you in my school?"

"I got bored. And needed another espresso," Reborn replied as he shrugged lightly.

"WTF."

As the two continued to argue, Hibari had been watching amused from the sidelines. _Hn. __The herbivore is acting differently. He's actually taking a stand. And that tall man with the fedora... _

He was strong. Just by looking at him, he could tell. The cool aura that he exuded, the confidence in his actions.

A carnivore had come into play.

Hibari inwardly smirked. He rarely comes across anyone strong, and beating up local Yakuzas single-handedly got rather boring.

Yup, he can do that. He's Hibari f***ing Kyoya.

He brandished his tonfas and turned to the elder male. "Fight me," he demanded. Reborn looked at him amused for a while before he put his hand on Tsuna's shoulder.

And threw him at Hibari.

Luckily, he side-stepped before Tsuna could hit him. He definitely did _not _want to end up with some herbivore on top of him.

Reborn smirked devilishly. "Let's see if you can beat my useless student first."

Tsuna scowled ever-so slightly as he was able to reorient himself mid-air so that he was able to land on his feet. Reborn disappeared like some freakin' ninja, leaving him with a demonic prefect who has the f***ing ability to take down a hundred men bigger than him single-handedly.

"So." Hibari turned to Tsuna. "That carnivore is you tutor?" Tsuna nodded in disdain. To Hibari, that explained everything. If Sawada got a carnivore as a tutor of some sort, that carnivore was teaching him how to be less of a herbivore.

Making Sawada interesting prey.

Without warning, Hibari swung at Tsuna with his tonfas. Tsuna moved fast to dodge Hibari's strikes, but even with his enhanced senses, Hibari was able to nick him a few times. In the spur of the moment, he grabbed one of Hibari's tonfas in the next swing and yanked Hibari's arm downwards, jerking his knee upwards at the same time, giving Hibari an effective knee to the stomach. Tsuna then threw Hibari over his shoulder and caused him to hit the floor. He backed up a bit, waiting for the skylark to get up so he could fight a little more...

_Oh, f***, I did _not _just do that. I did _not _just knee Hibari Kyoya and throw him to the ground. _

You did.

_S***. _

Tsuna warily looked over Hibari, trying to see if he was alright, and realized that Hibari appeared to be unconscious. Tsuna looked around him to make sure that he was not being watched, and discreetly ran home.

* * *

Hibari woke up two minutes later with a throbbing headache. Glad that no one found him, he stood up and dusted himself off. He thought about what just happened, and grimaced at the thought that he was knocked out by _Sawada Tsunayoshi. _He wiped the little blood which he coughed up when Tsuna kneed him from the edge of his mouth.

_You won't get away with this. I will fight you again, Sawada Tsunayoshi._

_And I will win. _

* * *

Tsuna walked through the quiet streets of Namimori. It was a nice Saturday, and over the week he was able to bond well with Gokudera and Yamamoto, not to mention learn a little more about them.

He learned that Gokudera was apparently a f***ing genius, and whenever he's in his 'genius mode', he ties his hair back, excluding the locks framing his face, and puts on a pair of glasses. Tsuna never saw him squint at far away objects before, so Tsuna concluded that Gokudera must be far-sighted or something. Or he was prescribed reading glasses. Or he wanted to look cool. The girls in Tsuna's class definitely agree that, with his glasses, Gokudera looks, quote, 'like a mother f***ing Adonis combined with Eros and Narcissus only with a modern edge!' How they know about Greek mythology is beyond Tsuna, since they aren't even that good at history.

Apparently, he was also obsessed with UMAs, or, 'Unidentified Mammalian Animals', or some s*** like that.

Why? Tsuna had no idea.

Tsuna also learned that Yamamoto's dad owns a sushi shop. And, seriously, they have THE BEST SUSHI IN THE ENTIRE F***ING UNIVERSE. F*** you, aliens, you can't match up to this s***.

Tsuna figured that if his mom and Yamamoto's dad, Tsuyoshi, opened a restaurant together, it'd be the greatest restaurant that has ever existed within the vast confines of the space-time continuum. Possibly even more than that. It's a cooking partnership made in heaven.

Yamamoto, apparently, isn't too bright either. He's also having some trouble with school, and they were able to learn that when they decided to go over to Yamamoto's place for a study session.

Tsuna stretched his arms. With Gokudera's short-tempered nature and Yamamoto's seemingly dense, 'haha-I-don't-give-a-s***-about-the-current-situat ion' attitude, it was pretty hard to survive the week since Gokudera was constantly threatening Yamamoto with his dynamite. He gave a tired, yet satisfied sigh.

They were crazy, but they were his friends. He treasured them greatly. No one had been his friend before, but now, he has two. Two people who actually care for him.

Tsuna smiled. He was truly happy.

He shoved his hands into the pockets of his denim jeans as he continued to stroll in deep thought. Thankfully, he didn't venture too deep into his mental state, because at that moment, a metal object whizzed by his head, and Tsuna barely dodged it. He saw a few strands of his hair float to the ground and jumped back to take a look at his assailant.

_Hibari Kyoya._

_F***. _

* * *

The tonfa came _this _close to hitting Tsuna in the head. The distance was about as big as this word right here, 'CORN'.

Why 'corn'? Because it simply is.

Hibari scowled at the little herbivore in front of him. He was pretty pissed off at the guy for knocking him out, and somehow finding a way to evade him for the rest of the week.

Well, it's not like he ever looks in the comfort rooms, luckily, for Tsuna.

He growled silently. His blood lust for this kid had been building up for quite a while. He dashed forward at the young boy, faster than you can say, 'I'll bite you to death', and started attacking _much _faster than he usually does. He's able to hit Tsuna across the face, and gives him a hard kick to the gut, sending him flying backwards. Tsuna grit his teeth, conflicted about what to do. Hibari suddenly appears in front of him, and he has no time to react as Hibari swings a tonfa into face. He falls backwards, and Tsuna coughs up a small amount of blood. Adrenaline rushes through his body, and Tsuna swiftly gets to his feet. He and Hibari have a stare off.

It just didn't seem right.

Tsuna rarely ever gets adrenaline rushes. It usually only occurs when he gets into difficult situations. But Tsuna's familiar with that sensation, and this time it's different. His intuition is going haywire, and he can't help but wonder if...

Hibari goes in for the kill, and Tsuna gets ready. They exchange blows for the next few minutes, a hit, followed by a block, and couple more hits. They step away from each other, and are in similar states. They're both worn down, and have bruises here and there. Tsuna's gaze moves to Hibari's arm, which he had scratched during the exchange. The blood was flowing rapidly, and it looked like it Hibari would faint from blood loss if it wasn't taken care of.

But it wasn't there.

The wound was gone.

Tsuna's eyes widened as he realized that in the few minutes they'd been fighting, the scratch he gave Hibari _healed. _That affirmed his suspicions.

Hibari was an experiment.

* * *

_Looks like the scratch healed, _Hibari noted.

As early as he could remember, he had this insane amount of strength and blood lust. He loved to fight, the thrill it gave, to the point it could count as an obsession. He had an eidetic memory, and a high IQ for his age as well. He was drawn to the idealism of discipline, and eventually became the feared 'Demon Prefect of Namimori'.

As an additional feature, he could heal very quickly, and had a high physical ability.

Hibari wasn't sure how he had gained these abilities, but he had never pried for any answers, since he didn't know where to start.

He looked down at himself. His gray T-shirt was dirtied, and his black pants were torn here and there. _The herbivore actually put up a good fight. _

Hibari felt his excitement build up. None of his fights ever lasted this long.

_What else do you have to offer, Sawada Tsunayoshi? _

Tsuna's bangs shadowed his eyes, and taking the moment to pounce, Hibari lunged forward. Suddenly, his tonfas were no longer in hand, his arm was twisted behind his back, and he found himself kneeling on the floor. He glanced behind him to find that _Tsuna _was the one who had brought him to the ground. Tsuna stared down at Hibari, and gray eyes met bright amber ones. In his right hand, he held Hibari's tonfas, the other he was using to restrain the man himself.

Hibari's eyes widened in disbelief. He lost _again?! _

**"Hibari-san." **

Hibari was taken by surprise. His voice was lower? And it seemed full of confidence.

**"I don't want Tsuna to end up in any trouble, so how about we compromise?" **

_Compromise? Sounds interesting. _

"I'm listening." Hibari strained to keep his voice level, still angry at the boy.

**"Leave Tsuna alone in school and in public. In return, we can help you understand why you have such abilities."**

_How did he...? Wait, _we_? _Hibari narrowed his eyes even further.

**"I'm afraid we can't explain everything to you just yet. Using Tsuna's body can be draining, and I don't have much time before I collapse." **Decimo muttered the last sentence, and even with Hibari's apparent hearing, he couldn't quite hear it.

**"We'll explain everything to you on Monday. Also, if possible, we might be able to get Reborn to fight you." **

_Reborn? The carnivore? Hn. It just got very interesting... _

Decimo pulled Hibari up and allowed the skylark to face him. Just now Hibari was wondering about how Sawada got those amber eyes...

Decimo held out Hibari's tonfas. **"Do we have a deal?" **

Hibari gave it a moment's thought. He took his tonfas back. "Hn," he said in apparent affirmation. He kept his tonfas...wherever the f*** he keeps them...and walked away. Decimo watched Hibari's retreating figure, to ensure he didn't come back.

"Juudaime!"

Decimo turned around to the familiar voice. _**Gokudera Hayato, **_he thought. Decimo collapsed on the floor, assured that Gokudera would be able to look after Tsuna's unconscious body. "Juudaime?!" Gokudera called out in evident urgency as he neared.

**"I hope this helps with your problems, Tsuna," **Decimo murmured as his eyelids closed shut.

* * *

Gokudera stopped in front of the Sawada residence and knocked on the door, and unconscious Tsuna slung over him. Nana came to open the door.

"Oh! Gokudera-kun! What are you doing here?" she asked. Her eyes trailed to Tsuna. "Oh, my! What happened to Tsu-kun?"

Gokudera racked his brain for an excuse. "He, uh, must have gotten tired!"

Nana fell for it, thankfully, and moved to take Tsuna off Gokudera.

"A-Ah! There's no need, Sawada-san!" Gokudera said as he took one step back.

"Nonsense!" And by some freak-ass magic, Tsuna was with Nana. Gokudera looked at where Tsuna used to be on his shoulders, then at Nana.

"How...?"

"I'll take care of Tsu-kun, don't you worry! Goodbye, Gokudera-kun!" And then she closed the door in Gokudera's face, but not before he caught sight of someone else inside the house. He walked home, deep in thought.

_What happened to Juudaime? And was that Reborn? _

He'll figure it out soon.

He f***ing will, glitches.

* * *

_*Illusion-san is still wailing in emo corner**Alaude sighs*_

_Illusion-san would like to thank you for reading this. Also, you may have noticed that the cover page changed. That's because Illusion-san decided to change the profile picture. If anyone can find a good cover for this story, please notify Illusion-san._

_Illusion-san would like to leave you with this footnote._

F*** logic. He just saw a statue melt because of food.

_Grazie._


	10. Chapter 10 - Unwelcome

**_As Illusion-san would say it, ciao._**

**_And, yes, this is still Alaude (or, rather, Author-sama's nii-san) talking. To not confuse you, I'll be typing in bold italics. I usually add these after Illusion-san writes them. Actually, Illusion-san came out of the emo corner after a while._**

**_But then Illusion-san wrote this. _****_And it's back to the emo corner._**

**_Also, Illusion-san is experiencing a major overload of random ideas for long-term fictions, so please go to Illusion911-san's profile, skip all the random s*** _**_(Illusion-san wails louder) **and read the story descriptions. If you've taken an interest to one, you may send a PM or post a review to inform Illusion-san that you want that story to be published. Or, you could just vote in the poll.**_

_**Katekyo Hitman Reborn belongs to the one and only Amano Akira.**_

_**And since I have this random quote notebook and I barely use any of these quotes, from hereon, I'll be posting forenotes. Enjoy.**_

* * *

_Normalcy isn't an option, nor is strangeness. Whatever we receive, or will receive, is decided by Fate. But, whatever happens to us is decided by our choices. So, is it fair to say that Fate does not exist? Nay, for while what we call our 'destiny' is governed by our choices, Fate has purpose, which is to prophecise, and to guide. _

* * *

Chapter 10 - Unwelcome

Tsuna woke up with a start, sweat conspicuously forming on his forehead.

_Oh s*** Hibari Kyoya is a freaking experiment, and now I'm going to die because he's a freakin' demon and I pissed him off. OH S*** I DIDN'T EVEN GET A CHANCE TO KILL THOSE F***TARDS WHO EXPERIMENTED ON ME! DAMMIT! _Tsuna suddenly snapped out of it and realized where he was.

_I'm...in my room? Oh, please tell me that everything was a dream. _

"It's no dream, Dame-Tsuna," Reborn said from his position by the door frame.

_S***. _

Tsuna swung his legs over the edge of his bed as he stretched his arms. He examined himself, and saw that he wasn't wounded at all. Reborn said that it wasn't a dream, so that must have meant that Tsuna was out for quite a while.

_But how did I get out of it? What really happened? How did I get back here? _

Reborn moved in front of Tsuna, and the boy looked up to see two dark eyes staring straight at him, and possibly into his soul. Reborn was grimacing the slightest bit, Tsuna observed, which meant serious business.

"Yes, Tsuna," Reborn said seriously, "What _did _happen?"

Tsuna was perplexed. "What do you mean?"

Reborn folded his arms. "Gokudera came here carrying _you _unconscious, not to mention rather bruised. Care to explain?"

Tsuna sighed. "It's all your fault, you know. If you didn't appear that time when Hibari confronted me, he wouldn't have attacked me on the street and tried to ki-"

"I know about that," Reborn cut in. "I want to know why you passed out. You were able to beat Hibari, yet you passed out." Tsuna's eyes widened as Reborn's words sunk in.

He cradled his face in the palm of his hand.

_What...did happen? I can't... _

_**Allow me to help you.**_

* * *

Hibari Kyoya is an experiment, _Tsuna thought. _That explains everything. His strength, abilities, and his blood lust. It must have been the product of some sort of experimentation done on him. Thank goodness, he's not a magician. Now I can die in peace knowing that he won't just resurrect me again, _he mused._

**_You're not going to die, Tsuna._ **

Decimo? What the..._ Tsuna nearly stumbled as he started to slip into that familiar state. That state wherein he temporarily forfeits control of his body to... _

Decimo! Oh, damn, please don't kill Hibari-san! He's just experiencing side effects from being experimented on.

_**I know, **Decimo assured. **Haven't I already told you? Anything you know, I know. I am you, and yet, I am not you. **_

_Tsuna's vision blurred even further, the cold sensation of Decimo taking over the only thing keeping him on his feet. _

Then...what are you going to do to him?

_**What **_**we _are going to do to him, Tsuna. He is an experiment like us. Therefore, we are going to help him. That's the only reason why we accepted that devil's offer. It's to help those like us, and to protect any innocent humans._**

**_I'll sort things out with Hibari Kyoya. __I just need to take over once again... _**

_Tsuna faded to black. _

* * *

Reborn watched bemused at his student who had suddenly spaced out. At the same time, he was rather concerned. It's not like he can _really _read minds, and Tsuna wasn't making any hint towards a certain subject whatsoever. He was about to press his hot cup of espresso (which he summoned out of nowhere) against his students head, when Tsuna suddenly gasped, as if he had broken out of some trance. He watched silently as Tsuna put a hand to his chest, and then to his head, breathing heavily.

Unfortunately, these gestures have many different meanings, and Reborn was having a hard time picking out a single gesture which could lean towards a certain thought. Tsuna took in a deep breath, and exhaled heavily.

_What was that? Those images... _He ran a hand through his hair.

Bingo. "What images, Dame-Tsuna?" Reborn pulled out his gun and pointed it at Tsuna. "You better tell me if you value your life."

Tsuna stared down the barrel of the gun, the tip of the bullet barely seen. He visibly flinched as he gulped. He had to tell Reborn about Decimo. After all, he already knew about the experiments...

Wait. He said that he was briefed about the experimentation. How could he not know? He was _Reborn, _dammit.

"I..." Tsuna briefly hesitated, but the jerking of Reborn's gun towards his forehead made urged him to continue. "I thought you knew about the experiments done on me, Reborn."

Reborn tensed a little, but it was well-hidden. "I do, Dame-Tsuna. _They _were trying to make you a superhuman to engage in wars, and other such things. Quite selfish, really."

"But, do you know what they _really _did?"

Reborn looked thoughtful for a moment. "Let's see. They gave you super strength, but not at that s*** Superman level, hell, that's ridiculous, amazing physical abilities, superior mental ability, superior healing ability, enhanced senses...I'm fairly sure I got everything down."

Tsuna nodded silently. His face adopted a gloomy expression, and he wasn't sure what to do anymore.

_He's got a gun in your face. Tell him, dammit. _

"There's more," Tsuna finally said as he bowed his head down.

Reborn arched a brow, and his face threatened to actually show emotion. "No, I read the files before they were destroyed. That's all they did."

Tsuna somberly shook his head. "That's true, but there was something else."

"And what, pray tell, is that, Dame-Tsuna?"

Tsuna looked up at Reborn, horror, fear, and hatred etching the features of his usually innocent-looking face. Thanks to Reborn, he finally remembered everything. Everything that he so desperately tried to forget and block out. Years of hard work to perfect his facade and establish the perfect mental block for his dark memories, all blown away by this one man.

He finally remembered why he had been an experiment.

He finally remembered how he escaped.

He finally remembered the blood that he shed.

He finally remembered what started it all, what caused him his pain, and why he had to hide himself from society.

"The Black Serum."

* * *

"Juudaime? Is something wrong?" Gokudera asked Tsuna as they walked to school. Tsuna shook his head.

"No, Gokudera-kun. I'm just thinking, that's all." Truth be told, Tsuna was hoping that he could confront Hibari alone and not drag anyone else into his situation, so he woke up insanely early to go to school. But, as he started making his way there, he eventually met up with Gokudera and Yamamoto, who just so happened to be awake at the same time as well.

_Do they stalk me or something? Honestly, this can't be coincidence, right? _

They continued talking as they usually would, when they finally came to the entrance of Namimori Middle. The school was pretty much near deserted, seeing as classes didn't start in the next two hours or so.

"Haha, looks like the school is still closed. Why'd you wake up so early Tsuna?"

"Juudaime wakes up whenever he pleases, Baseball-Freak!" Gokudera snapped at Yamamoto. Tsuna himself was wondering why the two were up so early as well. Suddenly he caught sight of the flutter of a dark cloak.

"Omnivore."

Tsuna nodded, noting the change in titles. Decimo had briefed him that he would have to deal with him. "Hibari-san."

"Hn." Hibari turned around and started walking towards the school building. Tsuna took this as a cue for him to follow and quickly caught up to Hibari. Gokudera and Yamamoto were so busy doing their one-sided argument that they didn't notice Tsuna was gone until Gokudera decidedly turned around and said "Right, Juudaime?" only to find that he wasn't there.

"..."

"WHERE'S JUUDAIME?!"

* * *

"So, omnivore," Hibari began as they entered the reception room, "Explain. And leave nothing out." Hibari took a seat on the couch, and Tsuna sat as well. The brunette took a deep breath.

"Hibari-san. You're an experiment." A deafening silence hung in the room, and Tsuna decided it was his cue to continue.

"For a while, certain people have been conducting experiments on other people in order to gain a weapon of war, a super soldier, a super human to do their bidding, and such other things. It appears your experiment was in order to create a special super policeman, or something, for a special task force. Since you're here, though, it must mean that you've found some way to get out." Tsuna licked his lips nervously.

He knew _exactly _how Hibari got out.

Hibari simply cupped his own chin in one hand as he took a moment to absorb everything Tsuna said. The boy in question waited patiently for any sort of response Hibari would make, though Tsuna had no doubt that it would be the question he feared.

"How can I not remember anything?"

Truly, his fears were realized. Tsuna took in a deep breath, admonishing all the terrible images that flashed through his mind.

"Your memories were sealed away, Hibari-san. That's why you can't remember anything about it."

"How do _you _know so much, omnivore?" Once again, Hibari had asked a question Tsuna had dreaded. He looked away, daring not to look into the prefect's calculating eyes.

"I-I'm also an experiment, Hibari-san. I'm familiar with the processes, despite being unconscious the majority of the time." Tsuna waited, anxiously pllaying with the hem of his shirt, expecting Fate to toy with his life once again and cause Hibari to ask another question.

Oh how dearly he wished he could simply get it over with.

The gods knew he had the ability to.

"Hn." Hibari simply said. He stood up and walked back to his desk, his motions not indicating any particular thought, and his face was as placid and devoid of emotion as ever.

"Leave," he demanded, "_now._"

In truth, Tsuna was deeply relieved, though quite troubled by Hibari's reaction. He stood up and bowed briefly before exiting the room, leaving Hibari to contemplate in silence.

_"Faster! We need to run faster!"_

_"I'm trying!"_

_"Well, try harder! They're getting closer!"_

_"We need to force open the door!"_

_"You go ahead, nii-san!"_

_"What?!"_

_"I'll catch up to you!"_

_"I'll catch up..." _

Hibari shook his head lightly at the images flooding into his mind. They were so blurry, so obscure, he could barely make out two lone figures running in a hallway, and only their voices seemed to resound in clarity. The entirety of it was in bits and pieces, a fragment here and there. And that other voice...

Why did he fear for its owner?

* * *

"Juudaime! There you are!" Gokudera called out in relief as Tsuna walked to their classroom. "Yo, Tsuna!" Yamamoto said as the duo went up to Tsuna.

"Haha, we've been looking everywhere for you! Where have you been?" the baseball star questioned.

Tsuna rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, somewhat expectant of his friends' reactions, mostly Gokudera's. "E-Eto, I was in the reception room talking to Hibari-san."

Silence.

_DOT DOT DOT DOOOOOOOT..._

"WHAT!?"

Tsuna sweat dropped at the level of their voices and the fact that everyone who was currently in the classroom, which wasn't very many, was looking in their direction.

"Please quiet down...I can explain..." Tsuna motioned to their respective seats, and they went there to continue their talk.

"What did that bastard do, Juudaime?" Gokudera angrily asked in a relatively low voice.

"Maa, maa, Gokudera. As you can see, Tsuna is just fine! So that means nothing bad happened, right? Ahaha!" Yamamoto quasi-whispered.

Gokudera grumbled. "But he might have threatened Juudaime! Or maybe he tried to attack Juudaime but Juudaime was able to block his attacks like the amazing person he is!"

"A-Actually, Gokudera-kun, I actually was the one who set up our little meeting," Tsuna said, a little flustered by Gokudera's praises. He's fairly modest, in terms of general awesomeness.

Silence.

Tsuna could _swear _he saw a tumbleweed pass by randomly.

"You...you set up your meeting?" Gokudera asked, slightly, if not very (okay, very, let's go with that), shocked that Tsuna would actually want to meet up with the demon. Yamamoto, on the other hand, was laughing awkwardly, the awkwardness itself barely noticeable.

"Y-Yeah," Tsuna said sheepishly. "After our encounter in the hallways, I knew he'd try to fight me constantly. I don't want any attention directed towards me, so I told him something he wanted to know, and in exchange, he'll leave me alone. At least in public."

Silence reigned once again, and Tsuna restrained himself from rubbing his temples.

_Why in blazes do there have to be so many awkward silences?! _

"A-Ah, if Juudaime says so," Gokudera said awkwardly.

"Yeah, I mean, no harm done, right?" Yamamoto cheerily added.

Tsuna simply sighed. But yet, he offered a smile. His friends really did care for him.

And he was going to do everything in his power to protect them.

The bell rang, and the people who had accumulated during their little talk headed for their respective seats.

* * *

Tsuna lightly drummed his fingers on the table in boredom, awaiting the next class. He stared at the door for a few minutes, trying to will the teacher to come start class already so he can get the day over with. Those few minutes passed, and no one seemed to be coming to the door. Tsuna resigned himself to looking out the window, seeing as Gokudera and Yamamoto were busy fighting off fan girls. Suddenly, the door opened, and Tsuna whipped his head around to see who it was.

The woman who had just came in definitely wasn't any teacher Tsuna knew. She was rather tall and sported long, somewhat dull, pink hair paired with green eyes. She seemed to be foreign of origin.

"S-S-Sister?!" Tsuna turned his head just in time to catch Gokudera falling to the floor, and immediately rushed over to him.

"Gokudera-kun! Are you okay?!" Tsuna asked while trying to revive him. He noted that his face became rather pale, and he was clutching his stomach in pain.

_A severe stomachache of sorts? But, he's been fine the entire day! Wait...did he just say 'sister'? _Tsuna turned back to the woman who had just entered.

"Hello everyone," she said, "My name is Bianchi, and I'll be your Home Education teacher for today."

_But...the next class was supposed to be English... _

The woman raised up a purple cake which didn't look edible in any sense whatsoever. Purple fumes were being emitted off of it, and the whole thing just screamed, 'I'm poisonous! Eat me and you'll either die or be scarred for the rest of your life!'

"Sawada Tsunayoshi," she called out, a dangerous glint appearing in her eyes. He just knew this was going to end badly for him. "Why don't you try my cake? It's to _die _for!"

Yup. He wasn't going to stay put any longer. Abandoning all sense of safety, he jumped out the nearest window he could get to. He landed safely, and after having a recurring sense of deja vu, he turned around only to find that the woman dubbed Bianchi was also making a move to jump out the window and follow him. he quickly turned tail and ran away, trying to figure out where he could hide.

And that's when it hit him.

_Another adrenaline rush?! _He could feel his intuition trying to tell him something, and Tsuna was all to familiar with the sensation.

Bianchi was another experiment.

_Well, at least I can tell if a person is an expeiment or not... _He broke out of his train of thoughts when a plate of dangerous material which should not even be dubbed 'food' flew past him, and ended up going 'splat' against some poor, unfortunate bush, and proceeded to disintigrate it.

_Food can do that?! NOTHING MAKES SENSE ANYMORE! _

He took a quick glance back, and saw that Bianchi was getting much, _much _closer to him by second. He picked up his pace, only to be greeted by an insanely large mallet to the face. Tsuna fell ass first, and looked up to see that the bane of is very existence was standing before him.

"Reborn!" Tsuna immediately picked himself up. "What are you doing here?!" The man in question shrugged.

"It got troublesome just staying in one place, so I decided to drop by and see how you were doing."

"That is a completely half-assed reason." Reborn pointed his gun at Tsuna's head.

"Mind repeating that?"

"D-Damn..."

"That's what I thought."

"Wait a minute, what do you mean by troublesome?"

"_Reborn!" _Bianchi suddenly hugged Reborn.

That came out of nowhere.

"Reborn, do you know her?" Tsuna raised a brow at the scene, but knew better than to laugh.

"Ah, yes. She was my fourth girlfriend," was Reborn's simple reply. "She's Bianchi, also known as the Poison Scorpion. Any food she touches turns into poison cooking, which is her main weapon." The said woman looked at Reborn with teary eyes.

"Reborn~! Why can't you come back to Italy?" she wailed, still clinging on to the hit man.

Despite the uncomfortable position he was in, Reborn was unfazed. "Like I said, I need to train this boy, Dame-Tsuna (note eye twitch from the younger), for the Ninth."

Bianchi then held up another plate of poison cake (which she conjured out of nowhere. Dammit, are all experiments magicians?!) and glared dangerously at Tsuna, who had shifted his feet in a way that he'll be able to run away as soon as the need arised.

"Then let me kill him so you can."

"Do you have any idea how wrong that sounds?" Despite his current situation, Tsuna couldn't help but comment. A plate of cake nearly hitting his face, had he not dodged, told him to do otherwise.

"Shut up," she growled. Her attitude did a complete one-eighty when she felt a hand on her head. She faced Reborn with sparkly-heart eyes.

"Don't." Bianchi pouted.

"Why?" she complained.

"He's going to succeed the Ninth. He needs to be alive," was straight reply. Reborn looked at Tsuna, who was currently...gaping? Reborn followed Tsuna's gaze, and gave an 'ah' in understanding.

Tsuna was looking at a ten-year-old running towards the group with grenades at hand.

Poor Tsuna's brain probably fried. _Logic can go f*** itself._

"Oh, that's the person who I said was trying to kill me, Dame-Tsuna. Bianchi, get back." As Bianchi loosened her hold on Reborn, he leapt out of the way just as a grenade was thrown at him and detonated at the area he was previously standing. Tsuna was able to get a hold of himself in time to jump away as well, but Bianchi was somewhat caught in the explosion. Tsuna stared anxiously at the plume of smoke, wondering about the fate of the woman. He saw a silhouette stand up, and Bianchi step out of the smoke, a little worse for wear, but unharmed nontheless. A dangerous glint appeared in her eyes, but it wasn't directed towards Tsuna. She whipped her head around to glare at the child, who flinched under the intensity of it.

The boy, Tsuna noted, had rather unruly black hair, and green eyes. He wore a white shirt with black spots here and there, much like a cow imprint, and black pants. Despite the fact that he was holding pink grenades in either hand, he looked otherwise innocent.

_What the hell did you do to this kid, Reborn? Did you screw his mother or something? _

"No, Dame-Tsuna," came a voice from behind him, "His family sent him to do kill me, knowing it was a suicidal mission." Tsuna didn't even question the fact that Reborn suddenly appeared behind him. He simply watched as Bianchi summoned some poison food out of nowhere and started to chase down the young boy. Tsuna could hear shouts of 'How dare you try to kill my precious Reborn!' and 'I'm going to kill you!' coming from Bianchi, and crying from the younger male.

"Should...I be concerned?" Tsuna said as the two started to go farther and farther away from them.

"No."

"But...that kid is being chased down by that woman with the poison cooking...Who was that kid anyway?" Tsuna resigned to the fact that his life will never make sense.

"Lambo Bovino. He's some spoiled brat. He's also an experiment, but it was because his parents were forced to sell him. He eventually proved to be rather useless, so they decided to kill him by sending him on a life-threatening situation, effectively disposing him. His experiments were based on immunity to lightning, and therefore, he's able to withstand huge amounts of lightning." Tsuna grimaced.

_How cruel can the world be? _

Tsuna's face met the familiar ground. Tsuna scowled as Reborn lifted his foot to allow the brunette to stand up.

"Get back to class, Dame-Tsuna." And with that, he picked Tsuna up by the collar of his shirt and threw him back into his classroom. Luckily, he went through an open window, so he didn't end up going splat on the wall. His classmates and teacher, who must have arrived when Tsuna was outside, stared at him. Tsuna, feeling the awkwardness of the situation simply sat back down in his chair, quickly reviewed the writings on the board, and went to stare at the sky outside.

"S-Sawada?" the teacher stuttered. Tsuna looked at the teacher, and made his eyes widen. "Ah, do you want me to answer the question on the board, sensei?"

The teacher furrowed his brows. "Um, no. Why did you just fly in through that window?"

Tsuna put on a confused face. "What are you talking about sensei? I was here the entire time."

"B-But...you just came in through that window..." The teacher turned to see that the windows were closed. He massaged his temples.

"I need a vacation..." he mumbled under his breath as he continued to discuss the lesson. The other students decidedly resigned to the teacher's opinion of the situation and continued on as though nothing happened. Tsuna continued to gaze out the window, long enough to catch sight of his self-proclaimed home tutor walking out of the school premises. Reborn turned his head roughly to where Tsuna was and gave a deadly smirk.

_You'll have to deal with them later, _he mouthed.

* * *

Tsuna no idea how this happened.

He was supposed to come home with his friends for a little study session (mostly for Yamamoto), have a little chat, and then go to sleep.

What he _didn't _expect was to find Bianchi (AKA the woman who tried to kill him a few hours ago) and Lambo (the kid who was trying to kill Reborn) in the kitchen of their house, helping his mother prepare dinner. To say that Tsuna was shocked would be a drastic understatement.

It was like a unicorn dressed like Spock wielding a lightsaber singing a Justin Bieber song just crashed into his house on a Nyan Cat and started to recite Shakespeare whilst dancing like Jennifer Lopez and holding a pineapple.

Apparently, Tsuna is aware of American culture.

"S-Sister..." Gokudera crumpled into a heap and fainted on the floor. They had talked earlier, and Gokudera had said that Bianchi was apparently his sister, and the mere sight of her causes Gokudera to faint and s***. Tsuna sighed and asked Yamamoto to carry Gokudera upstairs to his room, to which he happily (as per usual) obliged.

"Reborn, what the-"

"We came to an understanding," Reborn interrupted. Knowing that he probably won't get any more from the hit man, Tsuna went over to the table to help the group out.

"So," Tsuna said, addressing Bianchi, "How did you guys come to terms? And you're not going to kill me anymore?"

Bianchi just gave a smile. "Reborn suggested that I stay here with you, so we can still be close together. He also told me that my younger brother Gokudera is here, and I want to make sure he's okay."

_Wow, Bianchi-san sounds like a nice sister. Aside from all that Poison cooking c***. _

"And since I get to be with Reborn, and I don't want to make him upset, I'm not going to kill you." Tsuna sighs in relief as he breaks into a smile. "That's a relief." He turned to Lambo, who was simply sucking on a grape-flavored lollipop. He briefly considered asking, but decided against it. He turned to Reborn.

"I silenced him with grape candy, got Mama to stop him from trying to kill me, and Mama invited him to stay with us. The famiglia who disposed of him will be rid of him, and everyone is happy." Aside from Tsuna, of course, who is apparently cursed to deal with crazy people.

Tsuna nodded. Logic plays no part whatsoever in this world.

They eventually finished dinner, along with Yamamoto and Gokudera (who ate in Tsuna's room). Tsuna discovered that Lambo was an egomaniacal bitch when not consuming any grape-based products. Tsuna also discovered that, while every type of food Bianchi makes turns to poison, his mother can somehow nullify the effect and make it edible. Afterwards, he, Yamamoto and Gokudera had their study session. The two left when it got pretty late, and Tsuna went through his usual rituals before resigning to bed. He was about to fall asleep when...

"Reborn?" Tsuna sat up in bed as the raven appeared at his doorway.

"Tsuna." His voice was rather soft, uncharacteristic of the elder male.

"Yes?"

Reborn, who was still wearing his trademark fedora, though had exchanged his suit for black, silk nightware, brought the brim of his fedora over his eyes, effectively veiling them.

"...Sorry," he murmured, barely above a whisper. Tsuna shook his head.

"No need. Being sent to train me...you had a right to know," Tsuna said in an equally soft voice. A deafening silence hung in the air, and the two simply let the moment hang. Reborn spun on his heel.

"Good night, Dame-Tsuna," he softly said.

"Good night Reborn."

Reborn closed the door, and Tsuna lay back down. He stared at the ceiling.

_I really don't blame Reborn...He didn't expect that I had to experience what I had...That event... _The young brunette shook his head.

_No...I won't sulk about it...That's why I, why _we _let Reborn teach us to be stronger. His training methods are harsh...but strangely effective. I..._we_...accepted his tutilage because we didn't want any more souls to suffer the same way we did...Not again..._

_The Black Serum will not be used again. _

* * *

**_And, that finishes up this chapter. We hope you enjoyed._**

**_Also, I can't believe none of you can see the pattern. Can you seriously not notice that Illusion-san puts subtle hints of who will be i- _**_(Illusion-san kicks nii-san in groin) _

**_Aw, c***! *decides against revealing pattern for fear of losing his manliness*_**

**_Anyway, (note evident pain in voice) the next chapter will be rather long, so it may take longer to post._**

**_Arrivaderci~ _**


	11. Chapter 11 - Dark Omens

**_Ciao, everyone. Don't worry, Illusion-san is out of the emo corner, elated that we got more than 100 followers, so we say a big THANK YOU to you all who followed, and also reviewed and favorited! Illusion-san decided that I'll be handling the Author notes hereon, by the way. We apologize if this took long, though Illusion-san wanted to finish the arc in one go, but wasn't able to._**

**_We don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn~ Enjoy!_ **

* * *

_Chain reactions are a definite part of life. One decision can decide your fate. And so, the inevitable can be avoided, and the impossible can become possible. That's why we must always make the right choice.  
_

* * *

Chapter 11 - Dark Omens

"Faster! Please run faster!" the young girl cried.

"I'm trying!" the other child called back, hugging a large book close to his chest.

They had been running for hours, but their pursuers were relentless. They shoved away the thick foliage of the forest, desperately trying to get away.

"Come back here, you little s***s!" one of their pursuers shouted.

"Oh, no! They're getting closer!" the girl cried as the duo picked up speed. She dug into the pocket of her baggy, white pants and pulled out a small, garlic-shaped ornament. After pulling out a small pin sticking out of its side, she threw the ornament over her shoulder, directly into their pursuer's path. They cried out in shock as the ornament exploded in their face, emitting an obnoxious odor that caused them to fall unconscious. The girl looked over her shoulder to check if they were truly unconscious. She faced forward, and noticed a clearing.

"Just a little more!" she said to the boy. The boy nodded, and they were able to reach the clearing. They stopped and caught their breath. The girl looked at her current surroundings. They appeared to be near a town, a quaint one of sorts. She tugged the sleeve of the boy.

"Fuuta, let's go find someone to help us," she insisted.

"O-Okay," the boy replied shakily. "Let's go, I-pin."

* * *

Tsuna flinched. Gokudera noticed this, and looked on in concern. It was free period, so they were free to do whatever they wished. Yamamoto and Gokudera were talking to Tsuna, their chairs pulled towards the brunette's desk.

"Juudaime, are you okay?" he asked. Tsuna shook his head.

"It's nothing, Gokudera-kun. Don't worry."

Gokudera tilted his head to the side. "Are you sure?" Tsuna nodded. "I'm alright."

_Am I? _

* * *

Yamamoto frowned at Tsuna's smile. He, of all people, knew what a false smile looked like.

And Tsuna was wearing one.

Instead of saying it out loud, Yamamoto tried to bring a little life into the conversation, hoping that Tsuna's just in a bad mood.

"Haha, hey, do you want to play baseball later?" he asked joyfully.

"Tch! Who would want to play with you, Baseball Freak?!" Gokudera snapped at him.

"Ah, I don't think I can, Yamamoto. I'd have to ask Reborn first," Tsuna replied, somewhat ignoring Gokudera.

"Haha, you mean your home tutor, right? Okay! Maybe some other time?"

"Yeah, I guess."

But Tsuna just kept the false smile on.

_I wonder what happened... _

* * *

Hibari was doing his daily patrols around town, when he spotted something strange.

There, right beside a large building, was a mangled body. Hibari realized, upon closer inspection, that it was one of the members of the Disciplinary Committee. It was made obvious by the red armband, 'Discipline' emblazoned proudly upon it, despite the fact that it was stained in blood. And even without the armband, the hairstyle was a dead giveaway.

However, these were the _only _giveaways.

The face was beaten and bloody, and what seemed like claw marks could be seen all over his body. Hibari pulled out his phone, called for an ambulance, gave the necessary information, and continued his patrol. On his patrol, he kept coming across similar sights and bodies, some with a group gathering around them (which he dutifully avoided), others by their lonesome in dark alleyways. Hibari's features were set into a frown.

_Someone's disturbing the peace of Namimori...I'll make sure to bite them to death... _

* * *

"Hahaha! We got another one! We'll be sure to strike fear into the hearts of Namimori now!"

"..."

"Now it will be much _easier _to take it over!"

"That's not our objective."

"What?"

"What we're doing is merely a _lure _to draw our prey in."

"..."

"We're going after _much _bigger prey." A hollow laugh resounded in the spacious room. He'll make sure that they'll pay...that they'll all pay...

And the price will be the life of their precious heir.

* * *

Tsuna, Gokudera, and Yamamoto walked the streets in silence, the awkwardness plainly visible.

Yamamoto couldn't take it. Tsuna had been wearing his mask the entire day, and it was worrying him severely. He had to ask. He just _had _to.

"Tsuna," he said in a serious tone. Tsuna, immediately sensing the other male's concern, turned his head towards him, seeing as the baseball player was right beside him, and also tilted his head upwards a bit.

He's _still _waiting for puberty to give him that growth spurt.

"Yes, Yamamoto-kun?"

"Why are you wearing that mask?"

Tsuna tilted his head towards the side, confusion evident on his face. "I'm not wearing a mask, Yamamoto-kun."

Yamamoto shook his head. "Your smile," he simply stated. Tsuna looked on confused, until he got what Yamamoto meant.

_So he can tell false smiles from real ones, even if they're not his own... _

Gokudera, on the other hand, who didn't quite get it, was starting to get pissed at Yamamoto. "You ba-"

"My intuition is bugging me," Tsuna stated, cutting off Gokudera.

"What do you mean, Juudaime?" Gokudera queried.

"Ah, I just have this feeling that something big is going to happen." Tsuna's mouth was set in a thin line. "I fear it may be something of terrible importance."

As though proving Tsuna's fears, two children appeared in the distance. Tsuna squinted a little to see who they were. It appeared to be a girl and a boy. The girl had long, black hair tied into a braid, and black eyes as well. She was wearing a red, Chinese shirt, and baggy, white pants. It was obvious that she was foreign, most likely Chinese. The boy, on the other hand, had pale, auburn hair and eyes of a darker shade. He was wearing a black sweater, with a green and white scarf concealing the bottom half of his face, and blue jeans. He held a large, thick book close to his chest. Both children were disheveled in appearance, and looked as though they were running for hours. Tsuna immediately ran towards them, Gokudera and Yamamoto following suit.

"Hello there," Tsuna said as he reached them, "Are you two okay?"

The children in question squirmed, fearing that he was going to hurt them. Tsuna sensed this in their eyes, and offered a soft, sincere smile. He knelt down to their eye level, and held out his hand. They cautiously took a step back.

"I won't hurt you. Don't worry, I'm here to help," he softly cooed. "I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi, you can call me Tsuna. I want to help you two."

The children stared at the hand cautiously. Tsuna saw their hesitation, and flashed a smile.

"You don't have to take my help, if you don't want to, but know I'm here to help." That washed all their doubts away.

Maybe, just maybe, they have finally found someone who could truly help them?

The girl hesitantly took Tsuna's hand. "I-I I-pin," she said in broken Japanese. Tsuna smiled at her, and I-pin felt that the man before them was very nice. The boy took his hand next. "I'm Fuuta."

_Ba-bump. _

Tsuna flinched, and the children looked on in concern.

_Adrenaline? Again? Then that means... _He felt fury building up inside of him.

_Those **bastards**! How dare they experiment on such innocent children! I'll make them pay for this..._ Tsuna forced his growing rage down, and softly clasped the children's hands in his own.

"I'm going to do whatever it takes to help you, okay?" He flashed a smile once again. "I won't let anyone hurt you." The two could practically feel the warmth radiating from the man before them.

They couldn't believe it. There they were, running for their lives, when suddenly, this stranger comes, and willingly offers to help them. They have never even met the person, and yet, he was willing to aid them! It was amazing. They have never known such kindness in a long time...

The children crashed into Tsuna's chest, tired and weary, crying their eyes out, grateful that they've found someone to help them. Tsuna hugged them close, and whispered comforting words to the little ones in his arms.

Tsuna's f***ing awesome like that.

Gokudera and Yamamoto watched the touching scene from the background.

"Heh, Tsuna sure is good with kids, isn't he, Gokudera?" Yamamoto said softly. Gokudera said nothing, but he couldn't help but agree with Yamamoto.

_Juudaime is truly a kind person. _

* * *

_The researcher's head gave a satisfying crack as it was crushed against the hard, cement floor. His blood spilled, staining the ground, such as his colleagues' blood stained it. The machinery in the room was broken and falling apart, short circuiting here and there. Dead bodies littered the room, the floor dyed a bright red._

_The boy put the man's head down after confirming that he was truly dead. He turned towards the only door in the gray room, and slowly walked towards it. Each step he took produced a soft squishing sound, which filled in the deathly silence. They were begging for it._

_And so, he made them pay. _

* * *

Hibari was never one to be worried. He was Hibari f***ing Kyoya, for goodness' sake. But the situation at present was certainly troubling.

_Another one... _He silently nudged the heavily wounded body of the Disciplinary Committee member with his foot. Hibari whipped out his phone, called the hospital, and kept his phone once again. He's been frequently finding such bodies now on his patrols, and it's becoming alarmingly clear that a dangerous threat has made itself present. Hibari walked away from the body.

_To whoever is disturbing the peace of Namimori, I'll make them pay... _

* * *

Tsuna carried the children, who had fallen asleep, all the way to his house, along with the help of Gokudera. Yamamoto opened the door for them, seeing as I-pin was in Tsuna's arms, and Fuuta in Gokudera's. They all stepped inside, and Yamamoto closed the door behind them.

"Okaa-san! I'm home!" Tsuna called out, but no 'welcome back' was shouted in return. "Okaa-san?" Tsuna repeated. Yamamoto took notice of a note on the table, and read it.

"Tsuna! There's a note here! It says she went shopping for groceries with Lambo and Bianchi!" he said to Tsuna.

"Ah, I see. Let's bring them upstairs," Tsuna provided, referring to the children. They quietly hurried up the stairs, and brought the children to their second guest room. (Damn, they're so many.) They laid them down gently on the bed. Tsuna gazed at their peaceful, sleeping figures. Tsuna dug his nails into the palm of his hand until they turned a pale white.

They didn't deserve this.

Tsuna opened the closet and reached in to get a first aid kit, only for his wrist to be grabbed by a strong hand. Tsuna's eyes widened for a fraction of a second, until he realized who it was.

"Reborn..."

Said man walked elegantly out of the closet, as if it wasn't some irregular occurrence. "Chaos."

Tsuna gives a little glare as he roughly reclaimed his hand. "I was grabbing that kit."

"No need," Reborn assured, "They're just tired is all. You may need to give them new clothes, though." He turned to the two other teens in the room, but quickly disregarded them. He made his way for the door.

"Where are you going?" Tsuna asked. Reborn, without turning around, brought the brim of his hat downwards, and answered, "To look after Mama." He closed the door, and didn't give another thought on the subject.

Tsuna was troubled. _Why would okaa-san need to be looked after? _He shook off his thoughts in favor of the children before him. No sooner had they sat by the bedside when the children started to stir.

"Uhn..." I-pin murmured. She looked over at Fuuta, then at Tsuna. The two sat up in the bed.

"Are you okay?" Tsuna whispered. The children took some time to process the question, having just woken up.

"I'm fine. Feel better," was I-pin's reply. Tsuna nodded, then turned to Fuuta, who was still clutching his insanely large book. Poor Gokudera had to deal with its weight, combined with the boy's own weight. I don't give a damn, though, so it's perfectly fine.

"I feel better, too, T-Tsuna-nii..." he replied. Tsuna raised a brow. "Tsuna-nii?" The young boy squirmed. "I-Is it okay if I c-call you that?"

Tsuna looked shocked for a moment, but followed with a soft smile. "If you want to, I bear no objections."

Fuuta's face slowly contorted into a smile. He rushed into Tsuna's arms.

"Thank you, Tsuna-nii." He looked up at Tsuna. "Will you really help us?" Tsuna nodded, and ruffled the boy's hair.

"But first," Tsuna place Fuuta back onto the bed. "Tell me everything about your problem."

The two kids looked at each other for a moment, then nodded. Fuuta started first.

"There are people after us," he said timidly. "They want to get me. I-pin is just protecting me."

"Why are they after you?" Gokudera asked.

Fuuta sniffed. "They want me for my rankings." He clutched the book closer to his body. "They want to e-e-eliminate any competition they have, o-or find people to recruit, a-a-and they want my rankings as a basis."

Tsuna raised a brow. "Why _your_ rankings? Can't they just ask informants for any information they want?"

Fuuta shook his head. "They want accurate rankings. A-And due to a certain event, I-I-I..." He was on the verge of tears. Tsuna comfortingly placed his hand on Fuuta's shoulder.

"You don't have to say it." He looked away, his expression darkening. "I have an idea of what you mean." He looked back, flashing a comforting smile. "You don't have to say anything else. I think I get it."

Yamamoto looked puzzled. "Why do they need Fuuta, then?"

"That kid gained some special ability that allows him to make very accurate rankings just by basing them on the person's appearance, habits, history and such," Gokudera concluded. "Am I right, Juudaime?"

Tsuna nodded. "Don't worry. I'll protect you." He leaned in and whispered into Fuuta's ear.

"After all experiments need to stick together, right?" He pulled back, and Fuuta looked at him incredulously.

"R-Really?" The boy looked like he was on the verge of tears.

Tsuna smiled. "Yes."

"Thank you."

* * *

The trio walked to school, discussing about the events of the previous day.

"Bianchi-san said that she would look after them, so I think they should be safe, especially since Reborn is there," Tsuna informed his friends.

"Do you think we'll meet their pursuers soon, Juudaime?" Gokudera queried. Tsuna solemnly shook his head.

"I have no idea, Gokudera-kun, but my intuition is telling me that that might be the case." He silently contemplated about the possibilities.

Yamamoto tapped Tsuna's shoulder, breaking him out of his thoughts. "Hey, Tsuna, isn't that Sasagawa Kyoko from our class?" He pointed to an orange-haired girl someways in the distance. She was talking to an older male, possibly an upperclassman.

"Yeah, I think it is," Tsuna mumbled. "And isn't that Mochida-senpai from the kendo club?"

"Ah, yeah, I think it is!" Yamamoto laughed as per usual. "I wonder what they're doing over there?"

"Hnn..." Tsuna closed his eyes and focused on their conversation.

"But-but...I don't want to go out with you..." He heard a feminine voice, which obviously belonged to Kyoko. Unless, of course, Mochida was some cross-dressing girl, or was going through a whack stage of puberty.

Which, mind you, _still _hasn't blessed Tsuna with height yet.

Dammit, puberty, give the guy a break.

"If you don't date me, I'll have my buddies gang up on your older brother!" Mochida snarled.

"N-No! Please! Stay away from nii-san!" Kyoko pleaded.

"Then go out with me." Mochida's voice was soft and threatening, you could practically hear the insanity in his voice. Who in hell threatens a girl to go out with them?

Tsuna had enough of this. He opened his eyes once more and continued walking at a faster pace, his friends doing the same. He eventually reached Mochida, who had Kyoko backed up against a wall. Mochida noticed Tsuna, and reacted first.

"Well, if it isn't Dame-Tsuna!" he spat. Tsuna refrained from punching the guy in the face, Gokudera was getting riled up, and Yamamoto had a serious face on (epic achievement:earned).

"Mochida-senpai," Tsuna calmly said, in spite of his ire.

The said man snorted. "What do you want? In case you haven't noticed, I'm talking to my girlfriend, something you will never have. Isn't that right?" Mochida looked at Kyoko, who shrunk under his glare, which was implying for her to agree. Before Kyoko could say anything, Tsuna interrupted.

"Stop it."

Mochida snapped his head towards Tsuna. "_Excuse me_?!"

"You're harassing her. Stop it," Tsuna repeated, firmer this time. Mochida raised a brow at Tsuna, and stood in front of Tsuna, towering over him in an attempt to seem intimidating.

F*** it, puberty.

"And what are _you _going to do about it, _Dame-Tsuna?" _Mochida taunted.

"I'm asking you to stop it," Tsuna said, not backing down.

"Oh, really?" Mochida aimed a punch to his face, but Tsuna just moved his head to the side, evading it easily. Mochida tried to go for another one, Tsuna dodging it as well. Mochida grit his teeth, and threw another punch, Tsuna catching it this time. Mochida's eyes widened for a fraction of a second, before he tried to pull away.

Key word, 'tried'.

Tsuna kept a firm grip on Mochida's fist, and tightened it, causing the latter to flinch and grind his teeth in pain. Tsuna pulled Mochida closer, until their faces were inches away. Tsuna narrowed his eyes at Mochida, the former's irises flaring a bright orange. Mochida felt sweat forming on his forehead.

"**Don't make me repeat myself**," Tsuna growled lowly. "**Stop it.**" Tsuna released his grip, and Mochida pulled away. He narrowed his eyes at Tsuna, before he turned and stomped away. Tsuna's eyes returned to their former color, and he briefly gasped. He let his hand waver over his eye before he allowed it to rest by his side once again.

_Decimo... _

Tsuna turned towards Kyoko. "Are you alright?" he asked. Kyoko bit the bottom of her lip thoughtfully before answering. "Y-Yes. Thank you." Tsuna flashed a smile. "That's good to hear."

Tsuna turned to Gokudera and Yamamoto. "Let's get going." The two nodded. Tsuna turned to Kyoko once again.

"Would you like to walk to school with us, Sasagawa-san?" he asked.

"Ah, okay," she replied. "And please, call me Kyoko." Tsuna nodded.

"Kyoko-chan, then. And you can call me Tsuna." He flashed another smile, and they continued to walk to school together.

Mochida, who had already reached the school, immediately headed out to find his buddies and gather them together. When all of them were present, he presented them with a request.

"I want Dame-Tsuna beat up to the point he can _never _use that pitiful body of his again."

* * *

Tsuna sneezed as they entered the school. Gokudera peered over at him curiously.

"Are you okay, Juudaime? Did you catch a cold?" Tsuna shook his head. "No, that's not it. Let's just get to class."

"Nii-san!" Kyoko called out from beside Tsuna. An upperclassman in the distance seemed to respond to her call, and rushed over to her. He had short-cropped, white hair and gray eyes. Tsuna recognized him as Sasagawa Ryohei, the captain of the boxing club, and Kyoko's older brother.

"Kyoko! Where have you been?" he asked in a loud voice as he arrived in front of Kyoko, which made everyone flinch, especially Tsuna, considering he had that enhanced hearing. "You were supposed to be a few minutes ago, TO THE EXTREME!" That probably killed Tsuna's eardrums.

"I got caught up in something, but Tsuna-kun helped me out with it, so I'm okay now," Kyoko replied with a smile. Ryohei turned to Tsuna, who offered a sheepish smile.

"Oh, you helped Kyoko out? Then you have my thanks TO THE EXTREME!" Tsuna winced at the volume, but the smile stayed put on his face.

"It was nothing, Sasagawa-sempai." Tsuna rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Please!" He put an arm around Tsuna, much to the chagrin of Gokudera. "Call me nii-san! Since you helped Kyoko out!"

"Err...okay," Tsuna said awkwardly.

"HEY! TURF-TOP! GET YOUR ARM OFF OF JUUDAIME!" Gokudera shouted as Yamamoto held him back.

Ryohei turned to Gokudera, a tick mark appearing on his forehead. "WHAT DID YOU SAY, OCTOPUS HEAD?!" Yamamoto laughed awkwardly, and Tsuna tried to calm them down.

"Herbivores." Everyone turned to the new voice. "You're being too noisy..."

Tsuna blanched. _S***, it's Hibari... _

"I'll bite you to death." He brandished his tonfas.

Tsuna stepped forward. "Please, Hibari-san! We need to get to our classes. If you bite us to death, won't we become late?" he reasons. Hibari narrowed his eyes at him for a moment, and Tsuna could feel his 'experiment' senses going off, his adrenaline unnecessarily building up.

Hibari kept his tonfas and turned around. "Go before I change my mind, herbivores, Sawada," he said before walking away. Tsuna let out a sigh, and the group headed off to their classes.

* * *

Tsuna let out a big sigh as he heard the bell ring, signaling the end of the day. He picked up his bag, and wandered downstairs. Gokudera apologized and went off, saying that he had to pick something up, and Yamamoto had baseball practice, so Tsuna was going out alone this time.

Bad timing.

When Tsuna stepped out into the grounds, he was immediately surrounded by about fifty upperclassmen, twice, and maybe even thrice his size. Tsuna analyzed his situation, and his surroundings.

"W-What do you want with me?" Tsuna asked, purposely adding the stutter. Hey, he's still doing the act.

From the crowd, Mochida stepped out, and Tsuna narrowed his eyes.

"You. On the floor. _Wasted," _Mochida provided. He motioned for the thugs to go and beat Tsuna up. Everything went in slow motion, Tsuna feeling like he was the only one observing in normal time. He should fight back...just a little bit, enough to make sure he isn't too badly injured...

_...f...u...f... _

A voice. Laughter. Tsuna could hear an eerie laughter echo through the air, and his heart started pumping. It was muffled and fragmented, but a laugh nonetheless.

The malevolent laughter of an experiment.

Tsuna grit his teeth. If there was an experiment out for _his _blood in the area, he had to fight full on, lest he is someone in the group of thugs. If that experiment was as dangerous, or even more so than Hibari (which he highly doubted) he needed to be at his best.

He needed to fight with all he had.

Time started to flow normally once again, and the thugs rushed forward to descend upon Tsuna. The brunette, in turn, calmly stood firm, knowing exactly what to do.

* * *

Mochida grinned as he saw the brutes he's employed rush towards Tsuna, confident that he'll never be able to walk again. But suddenly, he saw that the people he employed _were getting their asses handed to them. _He saw a guy fly out of the crowd, and a few more get knocked out of it. He couldn't believe it.

_Is Dame-Tsuna actually fighting back? _Another guy gets flung out, clearly out of it. _And is he winning?! _

"Herbivores...you're crowding." A black silhouette jumps down into the fray, and they are all immediately scattered by one blow. In the midst of it all stood Tsuna, who was perfectly unharmed, and Hibari, who had just arrived.

"Omnivore," Hibari addressed Tsuna. "I expected you to finish them off faster than this." Tsuna gave a sheepish smirk.

"I'm afraid I don't carry weapons, Hibari-san. I'm pretty rusty as well," Tsuna added a light chuckle.

"You weren't like that in our fight." Tsuna moved beside Hibari.

"Oh, I'm not used to gang fights. I was able to fight _you_ full on, since you're just one person," Tsuna provided. Now the thugs who were still conscious were _really _terrified now.

Tsuna.

Mother.

F***ing.

Fought.

Hibari.

F***ing.

Kyoya.

And.

F***ing.

Didn't.

Even.

End.

Up.

In.

A.

Hospital.

...

They took a few steps back in fright. Mochida, who apparently must have been dropped on his head as a child, stood firm.

"What are you doing?!" he shouted to the others. "Are you actually going to submit to _Dame-Tsuna?!" _Immediately, the others lost their pathetic brain cells, and moved forward to attack. Hibari and Tsuna, in turn, got into offensive stances and fought back. One minute in (okay, okay, 47 seconds. They're _way _too f***ing awesome to finish in one measly minute.) and all the thugs are on the floor, leaving Mochida standing there in front of them, gaping like an idiot. After collecting some wits, he turned tail before anyone could beat him down. Tsuna let out a sigh.

"Hn." Hibari turned and walked away. Tsuna, on the other hand, stayed put, trying to figure out where the experiment he sensed went. That haunting laughter was very disturbing, and Tsuna needed to know its source. Hibari hadn't taken five steps away when, suddenly, both he and Tsuna's intuitions flared. An excruciating pain made itself known in the depths of their minds, causing them to grip their heads.

_K...u...f...f... _

That same eerie laughter Tsuna had heard earlier now resounded through both teens' heads. Then, came a voice, cold and mocking.

_"You're combat skills are impressive, **Sawada Tsunayoshi**",_ it said with words laced with venom. The voice was silky yet taunting, and it was reminiscent of some psychopathic evil mastermind. "_The little skylark wasn't bad either." _Cue eyebrow twitch from the said skylark. "_At any rate, has he told you yet? About all those members of his precious committee I've been playing with? Or perhaps he has decided not to tell you? Ah, never mind then." _Tsuna was almost on the verge of falling to his knees, and Hibari was leaning against a nearby wall for support.

"What...do you want...?" Tsuna barely managed out.

_"What do I want, hmm?" _it said, a mocking tone evidently placed in it. _"I'm afraid that's not a question I can answer just yet. But soon...We will meet face to face..." _The pain was becoming more excruciating by the minute, and it felt as though their heads were being crushed.

_Get...the f*** out...! _Tsuna mentally screamed.

_"...I that's when I will **kill **__you..." _

The pain finally let go of its hold on their minds, and the two let out a gasp, the voice no longer echoing and mocking them. Tsuna started panting heavily, Hibari also doing so, but more calmly. Tsuna turned to the prefect with concerned eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked between bated breaths. Hibari didn't respond, so Tsuna took it as a yes. "What was that...that _voice _talking about?" At first Hibari didn't respond. All that could be heard was their panting, slowing down gradually. The tension was immense.

"For the past week," he finally said, "members of my committee have been attacked viciously." Hearing his words, Tsuna could only come up with one conclusion. That mysterious voice...

That experiment is calling him out to his doom.

* * *

"I've called for him. He will find me soon."

"That's great! Wait, so, you've told him where we are?" The other male shook his head.

"He should be able to find us. And if not..."

"...we'll find him."

* * *

Gokudera was currently in a mother f***ing puppy-dog mode, banging his head on the floor.

"FORGIVE ME JUUDAIME! I WAS UNABLE TO AID YOU!" Gokudera cried. Tsuna tried his best to convince him to stop. Once he met them on the street (as per usual) to walk to school together, he told them about the events of the previous day. He decided, however, to withhold mentioning the part about that sinister voice talking to them.

"It's alright, Gokudera-kun...You can stop..." Tsuna pleaded.

Gokudera looked up with a serious face, and pulled out a few sticks of dynamite. "Shall I bomb that bastard Mochida, Juudaime?"

"A-Ah, that's not necessary, Gokudera-kun. Let's get to school now." Tsuna replied as he pulled to bomber up from his kowtow position. "H-Hai, Juudaime!" Gokudera eagerly complied. They continued walking to school.

Tsuna flinched.

"GET DOWN!"

_**GET DOWN!**_

Everyone immediately responded to Tsuna's command, and not a second too soon, for hundreds upon thousands of needles flew above their heads. Sensing another incoming attack, they jumped back just as more needles stabbed the floor they once stood on.

"...I'll admit, I didn't think you'd be able to dodge them all," a stoic voice called out. Tsuna felt his heart start to beat faster.

_Another experiment? Could it possibly be...No, this is someone else. The aura is different... _

Presently, a boy stepped out from the corner. He had dark hair, which seemed to be an extremely dark shade of blue, and empty-looking blue eyes. He was wearing a white beanie, had a bar code on his left cheek, and a bandage on his right. He donned a dark green jacket, and similarly colored pants. He held a red yo-yo in his right hand, and seemed to playing with it. He allowed the yo-yo to travel up and down several times as the group watched with bated breaths.

"At any rate," he looked back at the three, then lashed out his yo-yo, and from holes built into it, more needles came bursting forth, only they seemed much thicker. They jumped back even further, and crossed their arms in front of themselves for protection.

"Mukuro-sama sends his regards."

The needles hit the floor and burst into smoke, enveloping the trio and obscuring their eyesight. They desperately tried to fan the smoke away with their hands, and when the smoke cleared, the boy was gone. Gokudera grit his teeth in annoyance, while Yamamoto laughed awkwardly, not sure how to react to the situation.

"Tch! Where's that bastard go?!" Gokudera pulled out several sticks of dynamite.

"Ahaha...What just happened?" Yamamoto, as usual, was unaware of the situation. But, then again, neither was Gokudera.

Tsuna shivered.

_That guy...that guy knows him...that experiment that somehow got into my head... _

"...Let's get to school, guys." Tsuna had his bangs shadowing his eyes, and his mouth pulled into a frown. His friends looked at him concerned, before complying and going their way.

But not before Tsuna could pocket a piece of paper that boy dropped.

* * *

The day went by as usual, and right now, the three boys were having a little talk as it was lunch time.

"Haha, that test was really hard!" Yamamoto laughed. Gokudera, as per usual, snapped at him.

"It wouldn't have been hard if you'd just study, Baseball-Idiot!" Shrugging the comment off, he continued.

"Hey, how about we have a picnic all together! It'll be real fun!" Tsuna stuffed a piece of his mother's AWESOME COOKING into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully.

"That sounds nice. I could use a little break..." Tsuna said thoughtfully. Gokudera's personality did a complete one-eighty.

"If Juudaime wishes for it!" Tsuna simply sighed. He's never going to change, is he?

"So it's settled!" Yamamoto declared as he clasped his hands together. "We'll go have a picnic this Saturday!"

"Yeah!" Tsuna agreed.

And so, they have pushed over the first domino.

It's only a matter of time until the last one falls over.


	12. Chapter 12 - Smoke and Mirrors

_A magician is a combination of three things: an actor, a scientist, and a witty bastard._

* * *

Chapter 12 - Smoke and Mirrors

One more day.

Just one more day.

That is when it will happen.

When the two sides will clash.

When the past shall be revealed.

When the mystery is unfolded.

A new saga will be born.

In just one day.

They will both fight.

They will both be forced to the edge of their lives.

The reasons will be told.

The past will never seem darker.

They will both tell of their pasts.

They will both decide their futures.

One more day.

When the real story starts.

**And when one of them will fall.**

* * *

"Wow..." Tsuna stretched his arms as he took in the scenery. They were currently in a clearing in some woods in the outskirts of town, setting up for their nice little picnic.

JK EPIC BATTLES GOING TO HAPPEN NOW.

Yamamoto was laying down the little mat where they would eat on later, while Gokudera was carrying some of the baskets and food. Tsuna was being a lazy-ass and admiring their surroundings. Okay, okay, he was bringing some of the food. They placed the food baskets on top and started to dig in.

"Wow, Yamamoto," Tsuna complimented through a mouth full of sushi. "You're dad's sushi really is awesome!" Yamamoto, in turn, scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Haha, thanks!" The baseball player turned to Gokudera. "How about you, Gokudera? What do you think?"

The bomber simply huffed and turned away, but stuffed a piece of the sushi in his mouth. Yamamoto laughed.

"Haha, nice to know you enjoy it, too!" Gokudera just growled under his breath. _Would that idiot just shut the f*** up? The sushi IS delicious though..._

Damn, this is bad. Now I'm hungry.

Tsuna couldn't help snickering at his friends antics. They were just too amusing to watch for their own good. He reached out and grabbed a sandwich before biting into it, savoring the beautiful mixture of various cheeses, spreads and herbs.

"Mmm..." Tsuna hummed in satisfaction. He was the one who made the sandwiches, and was worried that it wouldn't taste that good, but it tasted just right. He bit into it once more, watching Yamamoto and Gokudera have another comical one-sided argument about some random topic.

"Baseball Idiot! Of _course _the creation of the universe follows in line with the Big Bang Theory!" Gokudera sighed exasperated.

"Haha, true, but it's possible for it to collapse one day, yea? Because of all the gravity being created by all the planets and stuff?" Yamamoto said.

"No, it won't! It's because of all the dark matter and dark energy in the universe! It won't collapse because of it! Not only that, but gravity isn't created, you Baseball Idiot! It is essentially an occurrence which happens when an object of high mass is placed on the fabric of space-time!"

"But eventually, the fabric might collapse on itself, just like when there are too many things on an ordinary piece of fabric, yea? And though that's how gravity works for planets and stuff in theory, isn't it being researched on how it is produced, or how it really works? Such as whether or not it maintains its energy due to some sort of minuscule dimensions which help keep its energy spread out?"

"ARGH!" Gokudera tore at his hair. "YOU'RE HOPELESS, YOU BASEBALL IDIOT!"

Tsuna snickered discreetly. Yamamoto turned out to be smarter than most people think, and actually understood what Gokudera was talking about. And yet, Gokudera continues to call Yamamoto a Baseball Idiot.

Way to go for accurate observations.

Woohoo.

Suddenly, Tsuna felt shivers run down his spine. His heart started to palpitate.

"EVERYONE, GET BACK!"

Upon hearing Tsuna shout, Gokudera and Yamamoto immediately reacted, just before several needles impaled the picnic mat and the food. Tsuna watched in shock, then dropped to his knees.

"NOOOOOOOO! THE_ FOOD_!" he wailed. He jumped forwards to dodge a few more needles. He narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"I'll kill you for ruining our picnic," he growled at the place where he sensed the experiment. He already knew who he was.

Out stepped the boy with the yo-yo.

* * *

_"K...f..u...f...f...u..."_

_"Hey, ...k...o-s..., are you sure it's alright just to send K...p..i, ...?_

_"...u..f..., I'm sure **Chikusa **will be able to do fine. But...it's an interesting thought. Why don't you go as well, hm?"_

_"Alright, ...! Can't let ...p... have all the fun, ...!"_

_"K...f..u..., and there he goes..."_

* * *

Tsuna gasped as the images faded away, and he was brought back to reality.

_What...was that?_

Tsuna didn't have time to think as the boy drew out another yo-yo and started unleashing many more needles. Gokudera had already taken out a couple of his dynamites. Yamamoto, unfortunately, was without a weapon. Gokudera started to throw his dynamite at the boy, but he simply lashed out his yo-yos, and the wires somehow cut the dynamite wicks, making them ineffective. Several slightly larger needles were thrown and struck the ground, exploded, and consumed the area in smoke.

_This is bad! _The smoke slowly started to spread, and Tsuna dashed into the forest, as did Gokudera and Yamamoto. The problem was that they were going separate ways, and soon, they were isolated from each other.

They were each on their own.

Against notorious criminal experiments.

* * *

By the time Yamamoto realized it, he was all alone, separated from the others. He glanced around warily just in case any attacker was nearby. It was already hard to see as it is due to the thick foliage. Not only that, but Yamamoto was unarmed. He didn't have any weapon whatsoever. He didn't even have his bat.

He was defenseless.

"Ahahaha!" An eerie laughter filled the air. He turned around, then as soon as he registered that something was lunging itself at him, he ducked, and the attacker passed over his head. Yamamoto jumped back, and took a gander at his attacker.

He had spiky yellow hair, dark brown eyes, abnormally sharp teeth, and a scar running across his nose, and just under his eyes. He gave Yamamoto a feral grin, and already, he didn't like where this was going.

"All alone, huh, byon?" The newcomer bared claw-like nails. "Well then, looks like you'll be my chew toy, byon!"

* * *

"F*** it!" Gokudera swore as he frantically looked around.

_S***! I've been separated from Juudaime! If it wasn't for that stupid four-eyed freak, I'd still be with him, eating his awesome sandwiches, and that baseball bastard's admittedly good sushi. _Gokudera grit his teeth, then tore at his hair frantically. _What if he's in trouble?! I need to protect him!_

Dude, the guy kicked your ass when you trying to kill him with landmines, dynamite, and nitroglycerine. If his attacker can defeat him, what makes you think you can stand a freaking chance?

A sharp pain shot up his leg, and Gokudera quickly flipped forward just as more needles impaled the ground.

Key word: MORE.

The bomber winced as he noticed several needles stuck into his leg. He gritted his teeth at the boy in the beanie, who had walked out from behind a tree.

"...I'm your opponent."

* * *

Tsuna clawed through the mess of greenery obstructing his path. Oh, how he simply wished that he could just somehow detect their whereabouts, pinpoint their location, so that he would be able to regroup with them. After all, he was the one who suggested the area where they would picnic in the first place, fully knowing what dangers may be in that forest. Unfortunately, he can only detect the whereabouts of experiments.

His friends weren't experiments. He knew that from the very start.

All he knew was that currently, in the forest, there were but two active experiments wandering about. And for some damned reason, he simply couldn't tell where they were.

It was as if there was some power blurring his senses.

It was as though there was something that _wanted _him to be lost.

Something that wanted him to be alone.

All alone in a forest with two experi-

_No...Three!_

Tsuna felt shivers rack through his spine as he sensed the new presence. The aura it emitted...it was just so...

..._dangerous._

Beads of sweat started to form on his forehead as he frantically looked around, trying to get his sight to penetrate through the thickness of the forest, but to no avail. For once, he wished that he was given an additional experimental ability of radar or something.

* * *

_"Let's make him fly like Superman!"_

_"Don't we have to attach giant wings to his back to support his weight? We have no means to make him defy gravity. And even if we were to give him wings big enough for him to use, we'd have to link his nervous system to it, and we'd have to get them to grow as the boy grows as well."_

_"Aww..."_

_"..."_

_"Can we give him whiskers?"_

_"THE F*** WILL THAT DO?"_

_"...He'll look cute."_

_"...That's debatable, but we can't. Why are you asking this anyway?"_

_"..."_

_"Did...you take too many of your painkillers again?"_

_"...Yes..."_

_"Ugh..."_

* * *

Okay, maybe not. He has enough abilities as is.

_Not to mention that _they _are completely weird psychopaths..._

His ears perked up as he heard a set of footsteps steadily and purposely making its way towards him. Tsuna stood still as he heard the steps slowly getting closer and closer to him.

_There._

Tsuna lashed a punch at where he heard the experiment come from, but found it to be blocked by hard, cool metal. Tsuna's eyes traveled from the said metal object, to its wielder.

"Hibari-san?"

"...Omnivore."

* * *

Yamamoto moved his head to the right, but the animal-like boy was able to nick him in the cheek. The baseball player rolled to the left, just as a clawed hand tried to rip his face off.

_This isn't good! _he thought. _I don't have anything to fight back with, and I can't just keep dodging all his attacks..._

The boy, who had introduced himself as Ken, lunged at him once again. Yamamoto had no time to move away, as Ken had lunged at him so quickly.

Time went in slow-motion, and Yamamoto was about to cross his arms in front of himself when he saw something black and slim obscure his vision. Reacting completely on impulse, he grabbed it, and used it to block the attack. He pushed Ken away, hard, flinging the feral boy into a tree. Yamamoto looked down at what he was holding.

_Is this...a katana?_

* * *

Gokudera swiftly ducked behind a tree, a cigarette clenched in-between his teeth. He cursed his luck. He had been fighting that boy, who introduced himself as Chikusa, for quite a while now, and he was getting increasingly anxious about Tsuna's safety.

Yamamoto's as well, though he'll never admit that.

He gritted his teeth upon hearing footsteps get nearer to him.

_It's now or never!_

He went out from his hiding spot behind the tree, and flung several more sticks of dynamite at Chikusa. The boy simply lashed his yo-yos at them to diffuse them as he had done so several times before as Gokudera quickly ducked behind a tree.

"Can't you do anything el-"

Just as the wires slashed the dynamite in half, it exploded fiercely, and it sent Chikusa flying back, until he hit a tree harshly, splintered wood flying everywhere. He fell to the ground with a loud thud. Just before he fell unconscious, he noticed that metal pieces were scattered everywhere, and they seemed to be scorched rather badly.

"Nitroglycerine..."

He blacked out.

* * *

Hibari slowly put his tonfas down.

"Hibari-san..." Tsuna allowed his body to go slack. "What are you doing here?" At first, Hibari was silent, and Tsuna was expecting a tonfa to his face anytime now.

"...I'm looking for the herbivore responsible for attempting to taint Namimori," he finally said. He held up a piece of paper. "I was given his coordinates by his underling. It appears he had a death wish."

Tsuna's eyes widened as he saw the paper. "That's like..." He trailed off as he fumbled for something in his pocket. After a little while, he pulled out a piece of paper similar to the one Hibari had.

Tsuna compared his paper to Hibari's.

"They're exactly alike..." Tsuna murmured. Scrawled down on both papers were the coordinates of the forest they were currently in, and an additional note on the bottom.

Written in a red substance which both males knew was definitely blood, the message was definitely sinister, and directed towards the two.

**_If you want to stop me, then I won't object._**

**_I'll be waiting._**

* * *

After recovering from his brief state of shock, Yamamoto unsheathed the katana cautiously. He held it up to what little light was streaming down through the canopy. Despite what little of it was going through, the blade glinted brightly.

But Yamamoto had no time to think as Ken got back up to his feet and growled at him. Yamamoto let go of the sheath, and placed both of his hands onto the hilt of the katana. He racked his brain.

_What were the basics of using a katana again? Both hands on the hilt...Keep the sword aligned with the wrist...Don't try to catch a katana if it flies out of your grasp or else your fingers will get cut off..._

Ken lunged at him, and Yamamoto sidestepped the attack. Just as Ken's body flew past him, Yamamoto brought the sword down on the back of Ken's neck. Ken fell to the ground, unconscious.

But there was no blood.

Because he didn't want things to get to gruesome, Yamamoto used the blunt edge of the blade to strike the animal-like experiment.

What a sweet guy.

He nudged Ken slightly with his foot. Never know if the guy is still conscious after you smack the back of his neck really hard with a katana. That was his reasoning, so Yamamoto decided to nudge the guy just in case.

_Just in case._

He picked up the sheath and slid the katana into it.

_Where did this sword come from anyway? _Yamamoto looked around curiously, hoping to catch sight of whoever, or whatever gave him that katana at the right time.

But all he could catch was a fleeting glimpse of a black fedora, and coal-black eyes.

* * *

A large, dilapidated building stood before them. It was a sickly gray, and looked as though it had been badly burnt. It was also red-stained in several areas, which was definitely dried blood. Both Tsuna and Hibari were sickened by the sight, and the fact that such a building existed in the forests outside Namimori. However, there was one other unsettling thing about the building.

It was so _familiar._

Hibari didn't know why, but he had a sinking feeling in his gut, telling him to _get the f*** out of there. _He couldn't explain why it was happening. I mean, come on, he's Hibari f***ing Kyoya. He's not supposed to be..._unsettled _by _anything. _But the familiarity and the dread that he was experiencing...It was too hard to not feel put off by the thing.

As for Tsuna, he knew the place. He suddenly remembered. _Everything._

* * *

**_Blood and needles oh so nice,_**

**_In this world, cold as ice._**

**_Essential so treat them fair,_**

**_Scream if you wish to, no one cares._**

_"Faster! Faster! We need to get out of here before it burns down!"_

_"But...It hurts everywhere!"_

_"You're stronger than this! Please!"_

_"I'll try!"_

**_Blood and needles, in this lair,_**

**_Try and escape them if you dare._**

**_Death and devastation are imminent everywhere,_**

**_And no one can help you, because no one cares._**

_"They're catching up!"_

_"I'll hold them back!"_

_"No! We're getting out of this together!"_

_"But...!"_

_"Quickly! The fire is spreading!"_

_"O-Okay!"_

**_Blood and needles on the ground,_**

**_Do not make a single sound._**

**_The greatest tragedy in this land,_**

**_All occurred by your hands,_**

**_Now ever so bloody, before white and bare,_**

**_That is why today, no one cares._**

* * *

Tsuna shook his head viciously to get the images out of his head. He worked so hard to forget those memories, and he really didn't want to experience them again. He ran a hand through his messy hair, and gripped his head.

Did that experiment really have to stay here, of all places?

Hibari warily took a few steps forward towards the wretched building, and Tsuna, upon noticing his action, followed suit. As they got closer and closer to the building, they couldn't help but feel shivers start to travel down their spine. Tsuna felt his stomach start to churn, and his heart start to pump harder. Hibari tried to push down the feeling of sickening nostalgia. They got to the doors, and both men hesitantly pushed them open. It did so with an eerie creak, which they could hear resound through the long hallway stretching before them. After overcoming an uneasy tension in the air, they both stepped inside.

They walked on in dead silence, neither wishing to speak a word, not like they could. They were both too overcome by the feeling that they had been to that place before, one knowing why, the other not. They eventually came to the end of the dreary hallway, which had a metal door at the end. They both hesitantly opened it, and nearly threw up at what they saw.

Bones, some still with skin barely clinging onto them, littered the floors in abundance. Dried blood was evident on the walls, floors, and even the ceiling. The smell of death was in the air, assaulting their senses. Tsuna covered his mouth in disgust, and Hibari scrunched up his nose.

They cautiously continued forward, doing their best to avoid stepping on any of the bones. Tsuna's heart started to race, and he was able to detect the whereabouts of the other experiment. Whatever or whoever it was, it was spewing out massive amounts of killing intent, and pure blood lust. Tsuna shakily pointed a finger forward.

"He's over there," he said in a hesitant voice, slightly muffled by his hand. "The one who's been doing all of this."

Upon saying that, Hibari immediately headed towards the door at the end of the corridor, taking long strides, leaving Tsuna in his wake. He burst open the doors, his tonfas somehow already in his hands. Tsuna arrived a second later, and he immediately spotted the man they were looking for.

In the middle of the dreary and dank room, a man about Hibari's age sat leisurely on an old, faded velvet couch. He had navy blue hair which spiked up at the back, the style reminiscent to the shape of a pineapple. He wore a dark green jacket with pants of a similar hue. Underneath the jacket was a shirt with a design that would remind one of mist.

The doors shut behind the two boys, and they were immediately in defensive mode.

"Kufufufufu…" An eerie laugh resounded in the air, and both immediately recognized it to be the voice that they heard in their heads on that fateful day. The deadly experiment in the middle of the room slowly lifted his head, and the other two were shocked to meet the gaze of heterochromatic eyes. The left eye was a mischievous blue, the right a blood red, the kanji for the number 'six' in the place of a pupil.

"I had a feeling you would come soon, Project Vongola: Decimo, Project Discipline," he seemed to purr tauntingly as he got to his feet. The two boys flinched slightly at the mentioned titles, one knowing of their meanings, the other not.

"Why are you attacking Namimori?" Hibari demanded, quickly recovering from shock. The man in question simply laughed that strange laugh of his.

"Kufufu, I did it to lure the two of _you_ in," he answered. Tsuna grit his teeth. What would he do to them?

"Why? Who _are_ you?" Tsuna queried. The experiment gave a playful smirk, then bowed like a gentleman.

"My name is Rokudo Mukuro. It is a _pleasure _to meet the two of you." Sarcasm dripped heavily from his last statement. He straightened his back, and faced the two.

"As for _why _I brought the two of you here, well, for two different reasons." He pulled out a trident from seemingly nowhere, but after all the magician's tricks he's seen, Tsuna knew that he simply pulled it out from somewhere behind the couch he was previously sitting on.

Mukuro pointed at Hibari with the trident. "I wish to recruit you into my cause. As for you…" He pointed the trident at Tsuna.

"I wish to kill you."

His words were heavily laced with acid as he said them, the playful smirk never leaving his face.

* * *

Hibari really didn't know what to expect.

When a mysterious note somehow appeared on his desk one day, he decided that he would go look for the culprit of the disturbances in Namimori. He eventually got Kusakabe, his faithful right-hand man (much like a certain albino puppy we know) to temporarily fill in for him while he did some digging. He got to the forest, and met the omnivore along the way. They somehow decided that since their destination and reason for going there was the same, they'd temporarily cooperate. They got to a creepily nostalgic building and decided to enter. There, they found a bunch of human skeletons, and some dude with pineapple-styled hair.

And here he thought he was just going to meet some useless Yakuza group.

"Like I would join an herbivore like you." Hibari brandished his tonfas. "For disturbing the peace of Namimori, I'll bite you to death."

The skylark lunged at the experiment, who blocked his incoming blow with his trident.

"Kufufu, as much as I'd like to play with you, I'm afraid I would like to settle a score with the young Vongola-to-be." Mukuro pushed Hibari away.

Tsuna, on the other hand, scrunched up his nose in distaste upon hearing the name. He never agreed to be the boss of that Mafia group. He just wanted to kill off the rest of human experimenters left on the planet. Or, imprison them, at the very least.

"For now, though, you can play with a friend I've picked up along my way here~! His name is Lancia. Perhaps he can help you change your mind!"

Chains wrapped around Hibari from the shadows, and pulled him into a separate room. Before the door from where they came out from closed, Tsuna caught sight of a pair of empty eyes.

As though their owner had given up on everything he believed in.

* * *

Tsuna redirected his gaze to Mukuro, whose right eye seemed to switch kanji. From the number 'six', it became the kanji of number 'four'.

"Kufufu, well then, let's get started, shall we?" Mukuro lunged at Tsuna and started slashing at him. Tsuna tried aiming a few punches and kicks at him, but none were getting through. That experiment, Mukuro, he seemed to be as good as, no, _better _than Tsuna in terms of combat.

"Geh!" Tsuna gritted his teeth as the trident was able to nick his cheek. He jumped back and glared at Mukuro, whose smile only seemed to get wider. The scratch on Tsuna's cheek quickly sealed up, nothing left to note that it was there in the first place.

"Kufufufufu…"

"What are you laughing about?" Tsuna growled.

Mukuro slyly smiled. "One of the 'special' abilities I gained as an experiment was the ability to control some super special particles. Ever heard of them?" His smile turned into an evil grin.

"They're called 'hallucinogens'."

Tsuna's eyes widened, and his world seemed to go all swirly, Mukuro the only thing that seemed to look normal. He noticed the head of the trident glisten brightly, as though it were thinly layered with some powdered substance.

"Kufufufufu…" His right eye changed kanji, from 'four' to 'one'. The atmosphere heated up as Mukuro lifted his trident high in the air. "You know, I was originally after the 'Ranking Star Fuuta', but when I heard that the next Vongola was in town, I decided to switch priorities. I have waited for this moment for so long." He brought the end of the trident down upon the floor.

"Experience hell, Sawada Tsunayoshi."

Pillars of flames erupted from the ground.

* * *

Hibari broke through the chains (remember, Hibari f***ing Kyoya) and spun around to glare at the one who pulled him in, his tonfas still at hand. The man seemed to be about twenty-five years old. He had spiked out, slick black hair. Two black stripes crept on his right cheek, and he was holding a large steel ball, with strange snake-like engravings, attached to a chain.

"…" The man hefted up the steel ball, then threw it at Hibari, who attempted to side step it, but found himself being pulled towards the ball. Just as the ball was about to hit him straight in the face, Hibari blocked it with one of his tonfas. He pushed the ball away, however, Lancia pulled it back towards him. Hibari blocked it once again, the ball grazing his cheek slightly.

"Hn…" Hibari murmured as he jumped back and wiped the bruise he received from the attack. The bruise quickly healed, and soon, Hibari and Lancia were exchanging several blows.

_Looks like I'll have to dance with this herbivore for quite a while… _

Hibari smirked, and spikes appeared on his tonfas.

* * *

"Geh!"

Tsuna mentally swore as Mukuro started attacking once again, only the attacks were a little weaker. Regardless, the brunette was having a hard time trying to dodge the illusionist's attacks and the pillars of flame. An illusionist, he has labeled the man, for he is able to conjure up fantasies in a man's head, and mess with their perception of reality.

Though he knew the pillars to be simply a product of Mukuro's sick handicraft, he tried his best to avoid them. They wouldn't scar him in real life, but they would cause an overwhelming simulated pain. As for fighting back, well, he couldn't do much with his bare hands.

_I can't fight properly if I don't have anything to fight with! _

A strong kick sent Tsuna flying towards the wall, and coughing up blood. He slumped to the ground, and wiped the blood from his mouth.

_I need some sort of weapon to use! _

Elegant, chain-mesh gloves dropped onto his lap, and Tsuna widened his eyes in shock. He looked up to try and find where they came from, but he only caught sight of a retreating shadow. He slipped the gloves on, and they felt comfortable on his petite hands. He pulled himself up.

"Kufufu, ready for your death?" Mukuro pointed his trident at Tsuna.

Tsuna, in return, looked up, his left eye glowing a bright orange. He narrowed his eyes at the illusionist.

"I wish I could same to you, but that would only lower me to your level. Instead, I'll bring you to the brink of death."

They lunged at each other at high speeds, and started exchanging blow after blow. At one point, Tsuna was forced into a pillar of fire, but didn't feel a thing, thanks to a little support from Decimo. They continued to fight fiercely, and the kanji in Mukuro's eyes had shifted from 'one' back to 'four'.

_There! _Tsuna got behind Mukuro and elbowed him somewhere in the spine before driving a knee into his gut. Mukuro swung at Tsuna, but he simply dodged it.

"…Why are you doing this?" Tsuna queried.

Mukuro shot him a distasteful look. "To take revenge on those who are responsible for human experimentation, the Mafia." His words reflected the utter hatred he had for the very fact, for the very statement.

Tsuna shot a confused look. "But, Vongola was created to help protect those who were experimented on and make sure it never happens, was it not?"

"Ku…" A dark shadow covered his eyes.

"Kuhahahahaha!" The man laughed bitterly. "You really believe so? Why do you think Project Vongola has been running for so long?!"

Tsuna stood there in shock. He didn't know. It was an important question, and he didn't know.

"Vongola supports the creation of human experiments. You, me, and the skylark…we're all just products of their power lust, for their desire to become superior," Mukuro continued with a burning passion. "It was because of that power lust that I was subjected to such painful experiments under the Estraneo famiglia. Yes…a _Mafia _family, Tsunayoshi."

Tsuna bit his lip.

"But, they no longer matter," he continued with a casual wave of his hand. "They're all dead. I killed them all."

The brunette shivered, but Mukuro seemed to be oblivious to this and proceeded with his ranting.

"They made me go under such gruesome procedures…it was experience was akin to going to hell six times over," he growled. "Don't you understand?! They…_They _simply want to gain power. I would ask you to join my cause, if you weren't destined to become one of them. That's why I wish to cleanse the world of this evil known as _humans. _First, those who have supported experimentation, and then the rest of the human race will be wiped out, to prevent another such tragedy from happening, ever. And all that will be left will be us. We, th-"

"The product of experimentation?" Tsuna cut in.

"Exactly." Mukuro glared at Tsuna heavily. "Not like you will ever understand what pain I have gone through. Compared to all other types of experimentation, the Vongola project hurts the least."

At these words, Tsuna felt something snap inside of him as he remembered about the suffering he had gone through at the hands of _them. _He clenched his fists in a barely suppressed rage.

**"No." **

"Hmm?"

Tsuna looked up, both eyes blazing orange. **"It is _you _who will never understand true pain. Going through hell six times over…_hah_, I wish that would've happened to me instead. I _died _more than a hundred times over, and the procedure pained my very soul, hanging on to my body just barely," **he said in a bitter voice, full of contempt.

Mukuro, slightly taken off guard, tried to regain his composure and narrowed his eyes at the brunette. "I don't believe you."

**"Ever heard of the Black Serum?" **

"What?!" Mukuro's eyes widened in shock.

_No…that's impossible…The Black Serum isn't supposed to be potent enough to use… _

A gloved fist collided with his face, snapping him out of his thoughts.

**"You will _NEVER _comprehend what kind of torture we have gone through!" **

* * *

_"The Black Serum," the white-coated man announced as he showed off a syringe which seemed to hold a colorless, yet ominous liquid. His colleagues currently in the operating room applauded politely._

_"Now," the man continued. "Despite being called 'The Black Serum', the serum itself takes on no particular color. However, when it is injected into the subject, when travelling through the veins and spreading through the entire body, it will become a midnight black."_

_Meanwhile, little Tsuna, strapped to the operating table and hooked up to various machines, unconsciously listened to the man's explanations._

_"It will give the subject a myriad of abilities, heightened awareness, and other such things we haven't been able to do to other subjects before. Since our test subject here was able to survive all the previous procedures, there's a relatively high chance the serum will 'accept' his body." He applied a disinfectant to Tsuna's bare and empty wrist._

_"It took us a while to figure it out, but we were finally able to crack the recipe's puzzle, and will succeed where those in the past have not." He polished the long needle._

_"But, sir," one man in the room spoke up, "if the serum works, won't we all be in danger? The last eight killed all those who worked on them, and they weren't even given the proper serum. What difference will it make?"_

_"What difference?" the man with the syringe chuckled. "We included a nice mix of weakened neurotoxins we took from a Hydrophis Belcheri sea snake. The boy will experience so much pain and agony, he won't be able to move, with the additional effects of the venom itself. It will tire him out and buy us enough time to put him under out control."_

_He put the gauze aside, and Tsuna gazed into the man's eyes with weak and empty ones. Despite the fact that he was wearing a mask, Tsuna could've sworn he smiled evilly, like those villains on television shows._

_"Now, boy, don't worry. This will only hurt…a lot." The man stabbed the syringe into Tsuna's wrist, and injected the so-called 'Black Serum' into his bloodstream._

_Tsuna's eyes widened as he felt his blood start to boil, an overwhelming sensation taking over his body. The man's eyes twinkled in satisfaction as he saw the fluid turn dark and clearly circulate throughout the boy's body. Intricate lines of black snaked around his arms, legs, chest, face, and made him look like a demon._

_"AARRRGHHHH!" Tsuna cried out in pain as the fluid started to make his skin turn a pale white. Black crept up to his eyes, and his irises became dyed an empty black._

_He thrashed about wildly, the people in the room only observing his vital signs. The man who had injected the accursed liquid into the young boy's body laughed._

_"Hahaha! Yes! We have finally achieved what has only been done once four hundred years in the past!" He continued to laugh as Tsuna's lithe body was writhing in pain._

N-No! Stop! Please! It hurts! _The young boy cried, black tears starting to form around his eyes._

I don't want to die! Please! Someone, help! _He continued to scream in agony, slowly losing hope._

**Do you wish to be free? **_a comforting voice inside his head asked him. _**Do you want it to stop? **

Yes…Please! _Tsuna pleaded._

**Alright…Now sleep. I shall take care of everything for you. **

_And so Tsuna faded into black, the pain slowly leaving his body._

* * *

_Tsuna awoke to find himself laying helplessly on the operating table, all his limbs heavily cuffed down. He barely looked like a small boy he was, much less a human._

They _had just removed one of his eyes to work on the optic receptors in the brain. His left eyehole was red and bloody, and various injections were previously stabbed into it. The flesh on his forearms was peeled off, and the muscles and veins could plainly be seen. A large portion of his right forearm's muscle was removed, and the bone had a gash in it from the experiment. Stitches from some previous procedures snaked his legs. A long incision ran through the middle of his chest, starting from the neck to his stomach. Blood was dripping here and there. Attached to the cavity of his chest were large tubes and several wires. His lungs were conspicuously expanding and contracting as he was taking bated breaths. His heart was audibly pounding from pain._

_Wires and tubes riddled his body and were connected to large, sinister machines. They kept him alive, but the pain was still unbearable. It came upon him from every part of his body. Pools of blood stained the floor. His gouged-out eye lay in a small tray on one of the many operating tables beside him. Presently, a few of the masked operators entered the room._

_One of them walked over to Tsuna and proceeded to put his eye back. He sighed audibly._

_"How much longer do we have to experiment on this boy? His mother will get suspicious."_

_"Just a little longer," said another. He picked up a chart. "Soon, Project Vongola: Decimo will be finished."_

_Another operator walked over to the machine to look it over. "Let's just hope this one doesn't escape like the others..."_

Escape, huh... _Tsuna thought as the eye was reattached._

_**Yes, Tsuna. Escape. We will do it together, but not just yet. We must wait patiently. **__Decimo's voice comforted._

_"The Black Serum will settle in a few days' time, and then we'll be able to put him under our control," the first man said. "Now, as soon as you are finished with the boy, we need to get to Project Discipline."_

_"Alright." The first man left, and as soon as his eye was reattached, and an eye patch was placed, the other left as well. _

_Tsuna fell back into unconsciousness, the voice comforting him as he started to slip._

* * *

_"Quickly! Hook him up to the machine!"_

_Tsuna slowly opened his eyes upon hearing a stretcher being shoved into the lab. He watched in silence as a young boy, about two years older than him, was put on the space beside him on the operating table. The other boy had raven black hair, and rather pale skin._

_The doctors started attaching tubes and wires from the machine beside Tsuna to the other boy. After a few minutes, Tsuna heard one of them mention that the boy 'stabilized'. A few of the men left, while the rest stayed to monitor the other boy's vital signs._

**He is like us. An experiment, **_the voice told him._

Really?

_Tsuna turned his head slightly to look at the other boy. The other boy slowly opened his eyes, and saw the young brunette looking at him. Tsuna smiled at him._

_"Hello," Tsuna greeted faintly._

_"…Hello," the boy answered back._

_"I'm Tsuna. What's your name?" At this point, all of the men had left after affirming that the raven-haired boy would stay stable._

_"…My name…is Hibari Kyoya."_

* * *

_"Tsuna…" Hibari faintly moaned. After quite some time together, the two boys had become good friends. Not like they had any other company. They'd talk whenever they were alone, and now was one of those times._

_"Yes, Kyoya-nii?" Tsuna answered using the adopted nickname he chose for the raven._

_"It hurts…" he groaned. Tsuna pouted upon hearing his friend's statement._

_"I know. But…don't worry." He turned his head slightly to look at Hibari. He smiled softly._

_"I'll get us out of here. I promise."_

_"…Really?"_

* * *

_The surgeon poked at Tsuna's heart as thought it were road kill. He yawned as he examined the opened chest of the young boy._

_Presently, another surgeon entered the room, bringing with him a plate of cake, complete with a silver fork._

_"How's the boy doing?" the surgeon who had just entered asked._

_"Just fine," he said, as though he hadn't taken notice of the fact that Tsuna's heart and lungs were plainly exposed. Either that, or he simply didn't care, or it was normal to him. He gazed at the diaphragm, finding the act of its contraction and relaxation very soothing. The surgeon who had the plate of cake handed it over to the other surgeon._

_"What did you need the cake for, anyway?"_

_"I got hungry."_

_As they continued on with their discussion about the ethics of cake, and how one should_not _eat cake over an 'open' body (crumbs may fall in), little Tsuna stared at the fork in the surgeon's hand._

I'm getting out of here, for sure. _He looked off to his left, where Hibari was fast asleep. _

And I'm also going to free Kyoya-nii while I'm at it.

* * *

_Tsuna lay upon the table, now dressed in a white shirt and shorts, all of the previously opened areas of his body now stitched up and healed._

_"He'll be ready soon," one of the men said. "It's just a matter of time that both of them will become instrumental to us."_

_Just then, another doctor went inside the room, and whispered something desperately into the man's ear._

_"Ah…ah…" His expression started to harden. "I see." He turned to the other experimenters._

_"Project Discipline is a failure. Bring him to in to be disposed of."_

_Both Tsuna's and Hibari's eyes widened in fear upon hearing the statement._

_"NO!" Tsuna cried as he struggled to free himself from his bonds, and Hibari was being brought away. "KYOYA-NII!"_

_"Tsuna…" Hibari mumbled as the doors closed behind him and the men bringing him away._

_And that's when he snapped._

* * *

_The researcher's head gave a satisfying crack as it was crushed against the hard, cement floor. His blood spilled, staining the ground, such as his colleagues' blood stained it. The machinery in the room was broken and falling apart, short circuiting here and there. Dead bodies littered the room, the floor dyed a bright red._

_The boy put the man's head down after confirming that he was truly dead. He turned towards the only door in the gray room, and slowly walked towards it. Each step he took produced a soft squishing sound, which filled in the deathly silence. They were begging for it._

_And so, he made them pay._

_Tsuna felt himself start to come back into reality, the curtain of black slipping away. His eyes widened in fear as he noticed blood on his hands._

_"Wha…?" He started to turn around, but something inside him stopped him._

**Faster, Tsuna. Kyoya-nii's in danger of dying. **_Tsuna immediately opened the door and headed towards one of the rooms in the hallway, killing all those trying to stop him, his left eye glowing a bright orange._

* * *

_"Kyoya-nii," Tsuna lightly shook Hibari by his shoulders. "Wake up! Please!"_

_Hibari's eyes fluttered open. "T-Tsuna?" He sat up abruptly, and looked around him. Dead bodies lying in pools of blood littered the floor, and he nearly gagged at the sight. "Wha…"_

_"No time to explain!" Tsuna insisted as he pulled Hibari off the operating table. "We need to get out of here, fast!" Just as he said that, a loud explosion shook the entire building._

_"Let's go!" And so, they both ran off to find the exit, desperately dodging everyone who would try to stop them._

_"Faster! We need to run faster!" Tsuna cried._

_"I'm trying!" Hibari shouted back._

_"Well, try harder! They're getting closer!" They came across a door at the end of the hallway._

_"We need to force open the door!"_

_"You go ahead, nii-san!"_

_"What?!"_

_"I'll catch up to you!"_

_Hibari shook his head. "No! I'm going to help you!"_

_"Hey, kid! Get back here!" Two security guards lunged at them, and both children broke each of their necks. Tsuna crouched over their bodies, and started frantically searching their belts._

_"Ah, here!" he announced. He shoved two, collapsible tonfas into Hibari's hands. "Use them to fight!"_

_"But…what if I can't…"_

_"I know you can!" Tsuna said with a determined look. "Nii-san is…nii-san is a strong carnivore!" Tsuna nodded to himself, as though affirming his own beliefs. Hibari smiled, then nodded._

_"We'll get out of here…together." The raven brandished his tonfa, and Tsuna clenched his fists. Both children glared at the incoming pursuers._

I am…a carnivore… _Hibari thought._

_"I'll bite them to death."_

* * *

_Both children gasped as they stopped deep within the forest, far away from the building. They looked back, and saw the building become engulfed in flames, cries of agony resounding in the forest._

_"We're…finally free…" Tsuna panted._

_"Y-Yea…" Hibari mumbled._

_They continued on their way, until they reached the edge of Namimori. Hibari smiled in relief._

_"We've made it, Tsuna!" He cheered, and looked back at Tsuna, who was biting back his lip. "Tsuna?"_

_Next thing he knew, he felt a thumb press against his forehead, and he blacked out. Tsuna looked down at him._

**"I'm sorry, Kyoya-nii…But…it's better if both you and Tsuna forget…"**

_Tsuna fell to the ground, unconscious._

* * *

Mukuro gasped as he hit the door, ripping it off its hinges.

He put a hand to his head. _What…I just saw… _The sudden influx of images… Mukuro knew now, for a fact that those were Tsuna's memories. He shifted his gaze to Tsuna, who was glaring at him, heavily.

"You…and the skylark…" he mumbled quietly.

Just then, a body was flung across the room, and as soon as it hit the floor, Mukuro immediately recognized it to be Lancia. From the hole in the wall he had just created, he saw Hibari Kyoya step out in all his glory, and glare at him.

Mukuro stood up abruptly, and grit his teeth. "Both of your paths…nevertheless, I will…!"

He was cut off as chains wrapped themselves around him and Lancia, then pulled them into the darkness. Hibari was about to follow suit, but stopped when he saw Tsuna fall to his knees. He rushed over to him and caught him before he fell.

"Omnivore!" Decimo looked up at Hibari, orange eyes wavering.

**"I'm sorry…Kyoya-nii…" **Hibari flinched at the sudden pang of nostalgia, and was caught off guard when Tsuna pressed his thumb against his forehead, and a rush of images came into his mind.

**"I didn't answer your questions, but I hope this does." **

Both teens fell to the floor of the building. Hibari went out like a light, but Decimo remained conscious for a few seconds, long enough to catch sight of a dark figure loom over both of them.

* * *

_I would like to personally apologize for taking so long. I wanted this chapter to be nice, so I kept on re-writing it until I got the result I wanted. Also, my laptop has been gaining some bugs, and they've been proving a major problem. Again, I'm sorry. Damn, and it's so short..._

_Anyway, thanks to all those who followed! 100+ follows…I never thought it would happen! I hope the favorites and reviews go up that high as well!_

_By the way, I'm planning to write some other stories after this one, so if you wish to, please go to my profile, check out the summaries of my ideas, and vote on my poll!_

**_What happened to me? _**

_Shut up._

_Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!_


	13. Chapter 13 - Questions and Answers

_We keep on living trying to find the right answers, when what we should do is ask the right questions._

* * *

Chapter 13 – Questions and Answers

_Darkness._

_Nothing but darkness._

_He roamed about, trying desperately to find the light. He needed to find it. He didn't want to fade into the darkness._

_Then, he saw it. A light. A single, beautiful ray of light shining in through the darkness._

_He ran. He ran towards it, but it only seemed to be getting further and further away from him. He held out an outstretched hand, trying to catch it._

_Slowly, slowly, the light started to dim._

No…! _He tried harder to catch the fleeting assurance of safety, the only thing that could possibly protect him._

**Why are you trying to catch the light?**

_Tsuna flinched as the voice echoed through the darkness. _

**Why? After running away from it your entire life, why are you trying to catch it?**

_He was startled by the voice, but he answered nonetheless._

Because it can help me…I am trying to catch it because I want to feel safe…

**It won't help you.**_The light started to go out, and fear crept into Tsuna's heart._

**After all, we are discriminated by it… **_Tsuna held out a hand into the light, but immediately pulled it back at the sensation of it being burned. His eyes were wide open as he cradled his burnt hand._

**After all…**_The light went out, and in the piercing darkness, the only thing that could be perceived was a pair of bright amber eyes. _…**Every light has to go out someday.**

**If you want to feel safe, the only thing you can do is succumb to the darkness.**

* * *

Tsuna woke up with a start, with an annoying pang of nostalgia.

_Where…? _

He looked around, and was comforted to know that he was in his own room. He pulled the covers off of himself, and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He buried his face in his hands.

_I finally remembered everything...Everything about what happened in that accursed experimentation facility. Everything that I worked so hard to forget, it all came back to me. And Hibari-san… _He looked up from his hands. _Wait…where's Hibari-san? Is he alright? What about Gokudera-kun and Yamamoto?_

Seeing as he was only in a white undershirt, he grabbed a striped shirt and moved to head out the door. He turned the knob, and only then did he realize he was in rather embarrassing shorts. He was about close the door once again, when he found that it was being blocked.

In all his glory, Reborn stepped into the room.

Tsuna's eye twitched as he glared at the man who had so rudely barged into his room, _again. _Reborn, on the other hand, was looking Tsuna up and down. He raised a brow.

"You were going to go out in those shorts?" He queried. "You do realize that you look ridiculous like that, right?"

Tsuna scowled at Reborn, though it seemed a bit more like a pout. "I was going to change. What do you want, Reborn?"

Reborn gestured towards Tsuna's bed. "Sit. I need to ask you something."

Tsuna huffed, but sat down on the bed, as Reborn placed himself beside the brunette. Tsuna was half-expecting him to pull out a mug of espresso out of nowhere, but Reborn didn't do such a thing. In fact, he looked quite serious, compared to how he usually is. The only other time he looked like that was when…

_…When I told him about the Black Serum. _

"What…do you want to ask?" Tsuna spoke up.

Reborn stayed in his thoughts for a while. He put his hand to his chin.

"Gokudera, Yamamoto and Hibari are alright, I'll give you the luxury of knowing that," he finally said. Tsuna visibly relaxed. "As for what I want to ask…your _special _relation to him. I wish to know."

The brunette bit down on his bottom lip, searching for the right words. "He was an experiment in the facility where I was administered with…_that. _He was known as-"

"Project Discipline." Reborn finished for him. "An experimental project aimed at creating a sort of superhuman policeman. I know that. I want to know how you were able to interact with each other in such a place."

Tsuna kept himself from rolling his eyes, and from thinking bad thoughts about his ever-sadistic home tutor. He sighed.

"There was an instance when he was…failing. His health condition was becoming unstable, and the only apparatus that could possibly help keep him alive was the one in my room, keeping _me _alive. He was hooked up to the machine, and stayed there quite a while. We eventually got acquainted, and we became friends."

Reborn nodded. "How is it, however, that in school, you never seemed to show any familiarity between each other?"

**_Don't mention me. Just say what you must._**

"I wiped his memory clean. Everything about his experimentation, including our relationship." Tsuna scrunched up his nose. "That sounded so wrong."

_As wrong as Twilight. _

"That's all I needed to hear." Reborn looked at Tsuna. "Now, after your little affair in that forest, surely you have several questions of your own?"

Tsuna looked down at his hands. _That man…Rokudo Mukuro… _

"Who exactly were those people I faced?"

Reborn shifted his position on the bed. "They are known as the Kokuyo. Very dangerous criminal experiments. The experimentation they have gone through is almost as painful as yours."

So long as it could be compared to his own experiences, Tsuna knew it must have been painful. He frowned deeply.

"What became of them?" he queried.

Reborn was silent at first. "They were arrested. Not by normal police, of course. They were taken away by the law force of the Mafia underworld, Vindice."

Tsuna looked up. "Vindice?"

Reborn nodded. "They make sure the members of the Mafia abide by the guidelines set by the omerta, the Mafia law. Anyone who defies such laws are arrested by the Vindice, and taken to their high-security prison hidden away from the public eye, Vendicare."

The hit man continued. "The Kokuyo gang was wanted for killing the entire Estraneo famiglia. Lancia was a different matter, however. He was being controlled by Mukuro, with the use of a plant which can make people more suggestive. Mukuro made him slay his own family, but since he was under Mukuro's influence, he was pardoned with a lighter sentence."

The young teen took in all this information. "Hmm…So a Mafia famiglia really was responsible for their…experiences?"

To this, Reborn slowly nodded. "However, that's the only famiglia we know of that supports human experimentation. As far as we know, at least."

"But…" Reborn looked at Tsuna, and saw that the young brunette wore a serious expression on his face.

"…How _was _Project Vongola able to continue on, if all the past generations have supposedly killed all those working on the project, each and every time?"

To this, Reborn looked at Tsuna somberly before averting his gaze. "It is as I have said before, that is something for another time."

Tsuna abruptly stood up, and aimed a slap at Reborn, who simply caught it. The home tutor hit man quirked up a brow at his student's quivering body, eyes shadowed by his bangs.

"...After everything that's happened…I think I _deserve _to know, Reborn," Tsuna growled.

"I do not wish to repeat myself, Dame-Tsuna. It's not yet the right time-"

"Don't give me that bulls***!"

Reborn slightly flinched at his student's tone, but it was barely visible.

Tsuna looked up at Reborn, eyes tinged with the slightest bit of orange. His rage was evidently boiling up, and the aura around him darkened.

"DON'T GIVE ME THAT BULLS*** AFTER ALL I'VE BEEN THROUGH!"

"J-Juudaime?"

Tsuna turned his head slightly, and saw Gokudera, along with Yamamoto standing by the door. The two teens had shocked faces, and had obviously heard what Tsuna had just said, and had noticed his troublesome aura.

Tsuna pulled his hand away from Reborn's grasp. Yamamoto went over to him and put a hand on the brunette's shoulder.

"Tsuna…Are you okay?" Yamamoto said carefully, a concerned face on.

Tsuna took a few deep breaths, his vision seeming to go black for a while with white dots dancing about. His sight was restored quickly, and he clutched his head.

"I-I'm fine, Yamamoto," he managed to say. Gokudera moved next to him. "Y-You sure, Juudaime?"

Now, the two are rather close to Tsuna, and they feel as though they've been friends for a long time, so when they saw Tsuna swear angrily like that, and in a position which he looked like he attempted to slap Reborn, they were concerned.

Tsuna sat down, his eyes a nice dark sepia once again. "Yeah…" He looked up. "Why are you guys here anyway?"

Yamamoto seemed to brighten a little. "We decided to see how you were doing! After all, that incident in the forest was quite something…"

_The forest… _

"Ah, by the way, what happened to you two?" Tsuna queried.

The two teens looked away uncomfortably. Yamamoto spoke up first.

"After we were separated, I encountered this guy with spiky blond hair. He acted like a real animal…literally. Sharp fangs and all." The baseball player recounted. "I had a hard time trying to defend myself, but I was eventually able to knock him out! After that, though, I'm not really sure what happened…" He scratched the back of his head.

Tsuna tilted his head to the side. "What do you mean?"

Yamamoto looked thoughtful. "Well, chains wrapped around him, and then he was dragged away, into the shadows."

Both Tsuna and Gokudera looked at Yamamoto in what seemed to be incredulity.

"…Dragged away…" Gokudera echoed.

"…by chains…" Tsuna said thoughtfully.

"…Into the shadows?!" The two said simultaneously.

Yamamoto nodded.

Gokudera bit down on his bottom lip. "Something like that happened to me, too." The two other teens looked at the bomber.

"I was fighting that yo-yo bastard, and was eventually able to knock him out. I was going to go over and get some answers out of him, but the same thing happened with me. Chains were wrapped around him, and he was dragged away." Gokudera faced Tsuna. "Have you experienced anything like that, Juudaime?"

Tsuna nodded, a frown marring his features.

"That, and more…"

"What do you mean, 'and more'?" Yamamoto queried.

Tsuna turned to glare at Reborn. "I'd rather not talk while you're in here, if you don't mind."

Reborn stood up, dusting off imaginary dust. "If you insist." He elegantly exited the room, and Tsuna visibly relaxed. The young brunette faced his two friends, and retreated further back into his bed. He hugged his legs close to him. He sighed deeply.

"Well…where do I start…?" He looked up at the ceiling, and leaned back against the wall.

"Eto…After we got separated, I bumped into Hibari-san." The other two teens showed signs of slight discomfort, or perhaps incredulity about Tsuna's statement, but said nothing.

Tsuna continued. "We found this building in a clearing, and we decided that we would, er, investigate it a little. We saw a few things in there, and we met two other…experiments."

Tsuna expected a little query from Yamamoto, but the teen said nothing.

"We fought them for a while, and then they were dragged away by chains. Then I…blacked out. I think Hibari-san is fine, though."

Gokudera nodded as he heard this. Yamamoto, on the other hand, looked thoughtful.

Just then, Gokudera's eyes were shadowed by his bangs, and he seemed to be quivering. Tsuna was immediately concerned.

"Gokudera-kun...?"

Gokudera dropped to his knees, and started banging his head against the floor.

"Wha...?"

"I wasn't able to protect you! Please forgive me, Juudaime!" He continued banging his head against the floor.

Tsuna visibly sweatdropped. He tugged on Gokudera's arm, urging him to get up.

"I-It's okay, Gokudera-kun..." Tsuna comforted the bomber. "I'm alright, aren't I? There really isn't anything you have to be sorry about..."

Gokudera stopped, Yamamoto laughed leading to a one-sided argument between the two, and Tsuna sighed. Regardless, he smiled.

_It seems as though things will come back to normal once again... _

He was wrong.

* * *

Tsuna, Gokudera, Yamamoto, Ryohei, and Kyoko were heading back to their homes. Tsuna sighed as he thought about how he got the senior and his sister to join the group on their little walk home.

* * *

_Tsuna, Gokudera and Yamamoto walked into the classroom, and went to settle into their respective seats. Kyoko walked over to Tsuna and tapped his shoulder._

_"Hm? What is it, Kyoko-chan?"_

_"I just wanted to thank you again for helping me out with Mochida-senpai. I'm really grateful." She flashed a bright smile._

_Tsuna rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Ah, it was nothing, really. It was unfair how he was treating you, so I helped you out. That's it."_

_"I just wish I could make it up to you somehow..." Kyoko put a finger to her chin and thought hard. As though she had a lightbulb moment, she snapped her fingers._

_"Ah, I know! Why don't you have lunch with me and nii-san?"_

_"Eh?"_

_"Ah, you see, our maman made us some cake! It tastes _really _good! I'll treat you to some!"_

_"Are you sure it's no bother?"_

_"It's fine! Really!"_

* * *

_"Sawada! Why don't you try EXTREMELY boxing with me?!"_

_Tsuna scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I-I don't know about that, nii-san..."_

_The brunette was starting to regret accepting the invitation._

_"Juudaime doesn't want to box with a lawn-head like you!" Gokudera shouted at Ryohei. A tick mark appeared on Ryohei's forehead._

_"WHO ARE YOU EXTREMELY CALLING A LAWN-HEAD, OCTOPUS-HEAD?!"_

_"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!"_

_"Maa, maa, there's no reason to fight!"_

_"SHUT UP, BASEBALL-HEAD!"_

* * *

_I was able to escape while the two were fighting, but nii-san think that I finished my lunch, and decided that he would walk home with me to make it up. _Tsuna ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

Kyoko smiled comfortingly at him, and Tsuna smiled back.

"Well, this is EXTREMELY where we part ways," Ryohei declared, and started walking away from the group along with Kyoko.

"Goodbye!" the two shouted back at the gang, one _much _louder than the other.

"Bye!" Tsuna and Yamamoto waved back. And so, they continued on their way.

That is, until they heard a loud shout.

"VOOOOOOOOOOOOOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!"

The three teens jumped back as soon as they heard the shout, and from one of the buildings dropped down two people. One of them was a teen who had rather long, dirty blond hair and cerulean eyes, on of which was covered by his long bangs. In his hands were what seemed to be large blades.

The other one was much older than the boy. He had long, silver hair and gray eyes. He was wearing what appeared to be a black uniform, unlike the boy, who was wearing casual clothes. Attached to one of his arms was a sword.

"VOOIIII!" he shouted in a voice possibly louder than Ryohei's. He pointed his sword at the blond.

"GIVE ME THE VONGOLA RINGS, YOU BRAT!"

_Vongola rings?! _

* * *

_I'm sorry, but this is it for now! I hope you enjoyed reading it, and please review!_

_Speaking of which, please **go to my profile**. There's an announcement there that I think you might want to know about._

_It's very important._

_So go there._

_Now._

_Thank you~!_


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